Officials Arrest 20 People in a Child Sex Sting Operation

Following a child sex sting operation that took place over several days, Indiana police detained 20 people. The operation was carried out from Tuesday through Thursday by the Franklin Police Department and the Johnson County Sheriff's Office. Additionally, to carry out the operation, the investigators pretended to be minors and agreed to meet the suspects at a particular place where they thought they would be engaging in sexual activity with an underage child. The sheriff's office and the police department said in a press release, "During the course of this operation we dealt with many different people and situations. The conversations that are had prior to the suspects arriving at the target location are very troubling. The requests that are made to the Investigators posing as underage children are also very troubling and disturbing.” [caption id="attachment_59851" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] image credit: fox59[/caption] Furthermore, some suspects requested that the alleged child travels for the meetup while others traveled from other states for what they thought would be a sexual encounter with a juvenile. In addition, the suspects brought various items to the meeting places, like alcohol, narcotics, and weapons. More details The news release also stated, "We will never know the true extent or impact these investigations have on the safety of our children. Knowingly meeting with a minor and want to take that minor away from their home travel miles away scares all of us. Will we ever truly know what the suspect’s true intentions were?” [caption id="attachment_59854" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] image credit: image credit:[/caption] Moreover, following the child sex sting operation, the officials took into custody the following people: Mark Alan Adams, Jeffrey Dylan Alford, Philip Michael Buhrke, Ryan Alan Browning, Samuel Ernestro Severino Cabrera, Brallan Campos-Acevedo, Jonathan Tyler Evans, Calvin Michael Farris, Jeffrey A. Hance, Zacariah Ray Hart, Nicholas T. Hubbard, Eric N. Johnson, Thiang Za Lian, James T. Miller, Max Joseph Miller, Jonathan D. Morales, Jered S. Morgan, Helly Cananl Sang, Za Thio, and Christopher Greg Wilson. On another note, of the 20 people detained during the operation, more than half have been freed on bond. Also, Read: 43-year-old man with 25 prior busts arrested for raping NYC jogger, is suspect in two other sex offenses According to the press release, "We want parents to be very diligent in knowing what their children are doing and who they are speaking with on the internet. The number of online apps and what can be discussed is very alarming. Almost everyone carries a smartphone which makes it so easy to access these sites." Lastly, the Franklin Police Department and the Johnson County Sheriff's Office successfully carried out four sting operations between December 2020 and November 2022, resulting in 49 arrests.