Alamance County’s sheriff has announced that a multi-jurisdictional task force apprehended nearly two dozen people for sex crimes and other offenses following a 12-day sting operation that culminated a week before Halloween.
In a news conference on Thursday, sheriff Terry Johnson declared that 23 people were ultimately swept up in this operation, which the Invictus Task Force conducted between October 13 and October 24 in order to identify child predators and individuals who’ve been sharing child pornography online.
Dubbed Operation Ghost Wire, this three-county initiative made use of “cybertips” about illicit activity as well as the efforts of undercover officers who went online posing as children between 12 and 14 years old.
A partnership among the sheriff’s offices in Alamance, Davidson, Rockingham, and Forsyth counties, the Invictus Task Force has, in the past, leaned heavily on tips from organizations like the Center for Missing and Exploited Children to identify people who are trafficking child pornography online. In this case, the task force relied on these tips to nab the following eight individuals in Alamance County for posting or downloading illegal media files.
- Gustavo Arroela Cardenas of Burlington, charged with 10 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, placed under a $1 million bond;
- Donovan Reilley Douglas of Burlington, charged with two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, placed under a $200,000 bond;
- Austin Trey Hathaway of Burlington, charged with two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, placed under a $100,000 bond;
- Travis Steven Holt of Snow Camp, charged with 10 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, placed under a $100,000 bond;
- Steven Anthony Rawls of Burlington, charged with 10 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, placed under a $70,000 bond;
- Tyce Erick Searcy of Haw River, charged with 12 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, placed under a $1 million bond;
- Matthew Wayne Somers of Graham, charged with two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, placed under a $200,000 bond;
- Brandon Jarvis Young of Mebane, charged with two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, placed under a $25,000 bond.
A cybertip also reportedly led to the arrest of Randolph County resident Jacob Dylan Tally for 10 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation. Tally’s bond has been set at $1 million.
In addition to these pornography-related arrests, the task force used its undercover activity to arrest the following nine people for soliciting sex from children online:
- Jose Ernesto Flores of Burlington, charged with soliciting a child by computer and appearing at a pre-arranged location to meet the said minor, soliciting a minor for prostitution, indecent liberties with a child, carrying an illegally concealed weapon, and possession of a stolen firearm, placed under a $75,000 bond pending an immigration-related hold;
- Jason Kenneth Griner of Illinois, charged with soliciting a child by computer and appearing at a pre-arranged location to meet the said minor, soliciting a minor for prostitution, indecent liberties with a child, attempted first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, and disseminating obscene materials to a minor, placed under a $200,000 bond;
- Dwayne Keith Hatcher of Mebane, charged with soliciting a child by computer and appearing at a pre-arranged location to meet the said minor, soliciting a minor for prostitution, indecent liberties with a child, and attempted first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, placed under a $1 million bond;
- Kevin Joel Henriquez-Tobias of Graham, charged with soliciting a child by computer and appearing at a pre-arranged location to meet the said minor, soliciting a minor for prostitution, and indecent liberties with a child, placed under a $100,000 bond as well as an immigration-related hold;
- Walter Richard Maldonado Gonzalez, Jr. of Burlington, charged with soliciting a child by computer, soliciting a minor for prostitution, indecent liberties with a child, attempted first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, statutory sexual offense, held without bond for the statutory sexual offense;
- Masungulo Musikavanhu of Elon, charged with soliciting a child by computer and appearing at a pre-arranged location to meet the said minor, soliciting a minor for prostitution, and indecent liberties with a child, placed under a $100,000 bond;
Musikavanhu
- Oscar David Navarro-Chavira of Greensboro, charged with soliciting a child by computer and appearing at a pre-arranged location to meet the said minor, soliciting a minor for prostitution, indecent liberties with a child, and carrying an illegally concealed weapon, placed under a $100,000 bond and an immigration-related hold;
- Pedro Ramirez of Mt. Airy, charged with soliciting a child by computer and the attempted statutory rape of a child, placed under a $1 million bond and an immigration-related hold;
- Patrick Roy Snipes of Sanford, charged with soliciting a child by computer, indecent liberties with a child, and two counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, placed under a $100,000 bond;
This undercover sting has also resulted in the arrest of Lydia Garcia Camacho of Burlington on one felony count of obstruction of justice. Camacho’s bond has been set at $7,500.
Meanwhile, compliance checks in Randolph and Forsyth counties have brought in four previously convicted sex offenders for the following violations:
- Ervin Blankenship of Asheboro (Randolph County), three counts of failure to register online identifiers, placed under a $300,000 bond.
- Devin Wayne Clark of Randolph County, illegal possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, placed under a $15,000 bond;
- Logan James Conley of Archdale (Randolph County), failure to register online identifiers, placed under a $250,000 bond;
Logan James Conley - Dustin Drake Young of Forsyth County, seven counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, placed under a $500,000 bond.
Dustin Drake Young
