Mount Pleasant, SC (WCSC) – Federal and local agencies have arrested more than ten men since August for Internet crimes against children in the Mount Pleasant area.
Separate charges include visiting an area to solicit sex from a minor; This includes attempting to sexually exploit minors and sharing explicit material with minors.
A total of 15 agencies conducted the operation, and Mount Pleasant served as home base for detectives and officers to secure evidence and arrest and prosecute suspects. Each charge carries a potential prison sentence and entry into the national sex offender database.
Those charged will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office and its separate Internet Crimes Unit.
Kenneth Clark, an officer with the Mount Pleasant Police Department, spent hours investigating the operation.
“It means a lot to us. Our goal is to save children, and I think you can tell from our efforts to save many children. I know myself as a parent; My daughter is old now, But when you start back in that way as a teenager, it means a lot to other kids to be safe at our job,” Clark said.
Kevin Atkins, commander of the South Carolina Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, said it was a great partnership. Parents monitor their children’s devices and opt out of tracking; Teaching safe online practices, such as friend requests or messages from strangers, can also help, he added.
“It’s labor intensive; It takes a lot of time to develop a case. You can put 20 hours into these things and it doesn’t materialize. A lot depends on what the bad guys do. I could go on for weeks. That’s whatever it takes. I mean, we plan years in advance … a real chat-type investigation could take 30 minutes or six months,” Atkins said.
The four men below are facing various charges after traveling to the Taungthaya area to commit the crime.
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Carlos Nolasco is charged with criminal solicitation of a minor second degree and criminal solicitation of a minor.
Jason Thigpen, misdemeanor solicitation for a minor second degree; He was charged with criminal solicitation of a minor first degree and criminal solicitation of a minor.
Derrick Ewang is charged with criminal solicitation of a minor second degree and criminal solicitation of a minor.
Robert Jones, felony solicitation of a minor second degree; He was charged with first-degree criminal solicitation of a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor.
Following the operation that identified the passenger, the following men were arrested and charged.
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Sean Garner attempted sexual exploitation of a minor first degree; He was charged with attempted distribution of obscene material to a person under the age of 18 and criminal solicitation of a minor.
David Morgan is charged with attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor.
Ernest Cumbee faces two counts of attempted distribution of obscene material to a person under 18 years of age.
Peter McElhattan faces charges of criminal solicitation of a minor.
Robert Kirsch faces two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor first degree.
Jesse Haney attempted sexual exploitation of a minor first degree; He was charged with four counts of attempted distribution of obscene material to a person under the age of 18 and four counts of criminal mischief to a minor.
James Hook, 2 counts of first-degree attempted sexual exploitation of a minor; He is facing two counts of attempted distribution of obscene material to a person under the age of 18 and two counts of criminal solicitation of a minor.
Edward Bryan faces charges of felony solicitation of a minor for attempted distribution of obscene material to a person under 18 years of age.
Beaufort Police Department; Charleston City Police Department; Charleston County Sheriff’s Office; Department of Homeland Security; FBI Georgetown County Sherriff’s Office; Goose Creek Police Department; Greenville County Sheriff’s Office; Officials say multiple agencies are involved, including the Marion County Sheriff’s. office Mount Pleasant Police Department; South Carolina Attorney General’s Office; South Carolina Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General; US Marshalls; US Secret Service and York County Sheriff’s Office.
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