A DeKalb County Grand Jury has indicted 24 people for allegedly soliciting minors for sex in connection with a multi-jurisdictional operation titled, “Operation Interception.”
Each of the defendants, ranging in age from 20 to 55 at the time of the crime, is charged with at least one count of utilizing an electronic device to seduce, solicit, or entice a child, in separate indictments returned by Grand Jurors last Thursday.
Other charges, including human trafficking, criminal attempt to commit aggravated child molestation, and obscene internet contact with a child, vary per defendant, the DeKalb County District Attorney's office told 11Alive in a news release.
The charges against defendants stem from a five-day undercover operation based in Brookhaven beginning Jan. 30, spanning the course of Super Bowl weekend, held in Atlanta, the DA's office said.
According to the investigation, the men contacted decoys online, believing they were 14-year-old children, and either engaged in sexually explicit conversations with them and/or distributed obscene photographs to them.
The DA's office said many traveled to Brookhaven with the intent of meeting a child for sex. They were instead arrested by undercover agents after arriving at the designated meeting location.
One of the men arrested was 32-year-old Thomas Cheung, a gaming employee from metro-Atlanta and a Twitch partner. According to the DeKalb County Police arrest warrant, Cheung thought he was talking to a 14-year-old girl through the dating app, Whisper, but it was actually an undercover agent.
Most of the men were arrested during the five-day period beginning Jan. 30. Three other men -- Tony Brady, Dennis Harrish and Miguel Aguilar-Zargoza -- were arrested in May as part of the ongoing investigation, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney's office.
Following indictment, the defendants will now be scheduled for arraignment and later, trial. The cases are being prosecuted by the District Attorney’s Sexual Exploitation and Crimes Against Children Unit, which conducted an extensive pre-indictment investigation.
Men arrested in 'Operation Interception'
The list of the defendants, the charges on which they were indicted, and their occupations at the time of arrest are outlined as follows, in information provided by the DeKalb District Attorney:
Aguilar-Zaragoza, Miguel, 25
Occupation not available
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Obscene Internet Contact with a Child
Bowen, Nicholas Alexander, 30
Ride sharing and delivery driver
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Brady, Tony, 41
Occupation not available
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Obscene Internet Contact with a Child
Cheung, Thomas Ho-Yan, 33
gaming studio employee (more info)
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Collins, Jeshua Elijah, 23
Deli clerk
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Fadeyi, Tunde James, 56
Unemployed
Trafficking a Person for Sexual Servitude
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Gonzalez-Amaya, Walter Antonio, 23
Maintenance worker
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Obscene Internet Contact with a Child
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Obscene Internet Contact with a Child
Gordon, Larry Allen, 32
Fast food restaurant employee
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Gourdine, Zachary Tye, 29
Crane operator
Trafficking a Person for Sexual Servitude
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Graham, Dylan Michael, 28
Elevator mechanic
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Obscene Internet Contact with a Child
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Obscene Internet Contact with a Child
Harrish, Dennis Joseph, 35
Occupation not available
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Obscene Internet Contact with a Child
Hyder, Richard Jason, 42
Asphalt grinding contractor
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Kennedy, Mitchell Alle, 25
Software company creative assistant
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Obscene Internet Contact with a Child
Lalani, Raheem, 27
Unemployed
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Mendoza-Escalante, Marco, 21
Paving technician
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Menjivar-Fernandez, Darwin J, 23
Restaurant server
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Ramirez-Salgado, Oscar, 40
Construction worker
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Sanchez, Juan Manuel, 26
Automobile mechanic
Trafficking a Person for Sexual Servitude
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Timoteus, Junior Cornelius, 26
Restaurant server
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Valencia-Patino, Juan, 23
Student
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Walters, Tarno, 23
Grocery store employee
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Obscene Internet Contact with a Child
Williams, Kyle Alexander, 32
Warehouse employee
Criminal Attempt to Commit Aggravated Child Molestation
Criminal Attempt to Commit Statutory Rape
Criminal Attempt to Commit Child Molestation
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Obscene Internet Contact with a Child
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Obscene Internet Contact with a Child
Wilson, Robert Tyler, 32
Automotive service technician
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
Whynot, Dylan Golding, 33
Behavioral health case manager
Utilizing an Electronic Device to Seduce, Solicit or Entice a Child
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