Enterprise, Ala (WDNews) — Dale County Sheriff Mason Bynum announced today the arrest of six individuals as part of “Operation Creepin’ it Real,” a sting operation aimed at combating online child exploitation. The press conference was held at ALEA’s Region B SBI office in Enterprise.
The operation involved undercover officers posing as minors on various online platforms. Throughout the communication, the decoy’s age was explicitly stated to be under age many times. The defendants arranged to meet the “minors” decoys at various locations around Dale County with the intention of engaging in unlawful sexual activities for money.
The operation concluded abruptly when one defendant arrived with a 3 year old child to witness sex acts with who he believed to be two 15 year old females that he had also planned on getting pregnant, prompting law enforcement to intervene for the child’s protection and safety.
During the operation, officers engaged with over 50 individuals, and authorities indicated that several more arrests could have occurred.
Lt. Caroline Jackson designed and executed the operation with the support of nearly 40 law enforcement officers, and Captain David Hall from the SBI was instrumental in the effort.
All defendants, with the exception of one, were booked into the Dale County Jail and charged with traveling to meet a child for unlawful activities, a Class A Felony.
Michael Hatcher from South Carolina faces charges of Promotion of Prostitution and has a bond set at $2,000.
Glenn Daniels from Blakely, GA, faces a bond of $125,000 for traveling to meet a child for an unlawful sex act, in addition to a $15,000 bond for resisting arrest and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
German Cortez and Saiteja Soundary, both from Dothan, AL, have a bond set at $100,000, for traveling to meet a child for an unlawful sex act.
Joshua Ard from Gordon, AL, faces the same charges of traveling to meet a child for an unlawful sex act.
The sixth suspect has been identified as an illegal from Guatemala who claims to be 17 years old.
Authorities emphasized the operation’s vital role in addressing the increasing concern of online predators targeting children and stressed the importance of safeguarding youth from online threats.
