FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The 24 suspects range in age from 19 to 65. They hailed from as far away as Wisconsin. They were IT professionals, landscapers, and drug representatives. And they were all arrested during an undercover operation in metro Atlanta.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office along with 13 law enforcement agencies finished an undercover operation dubbed “Operation Just Cause.”
The sting was a four-day proactive effort centered in Cumming. The operation took several months of planning and was aimed at child predators and other suspects targeting children for human trafficking and other criminal acts in the state of Georgia.
Over the course of the operation, 24 of those cases were concluded with arrests, authorities said. Among those arrested were already-registered sex offenders and suspects with prior arrests for similar charges.
Investigators had numerous exchanges with subjects on various social media or internet platforms, police said. Many of those were exchanges in which the subject initiated contact with someone they believed to be a minor and directed the conversation towards sex, the investigators said.
They added that, in some cases, the subject introduced obscene or lewd content, often exposing the minor (undercover) to pornography or requesting the child take nude or pornographic images for them.
"If you want to prey on Forsyth County's children, you picked the wrong county," Sheriff Ron Freeman said. "And, indeed, I will tell you, you picked the wrong state if you think you are going to prey on Georgia's children."
Among those caught in this operation were a suspect who pleaded guilty to statutory rape the week prior and a man currently serving time in the state prison system who made contact with the undercover officer on a smuggled cell phone. Investigators even said a 25-year-old man and 19-year-old traveled from Tennessee to have sex with an underage child - and came with their 2-year-old baby were also arrested.
Authorities took the opportunity on Thursday to warn parents about the dangers posed online and the dangers that lurk out there.
Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Attorney General’s Office, Homeland Security, and several local law enforcement agencies took park in the operation.
More than 40 officers participated in the operation.
Arrests in Operation Just Cause
PHOTOS: Operation Just Cause arrests
Robert Harley Martin, W/M, Dahlonega, GA, 38 years of age, truck driver
Erik Delgado, W/M, Gainesville, GA, 26 years of age, sales associate
Alan Thomas Bryant, W/M, Murrayville, GA, 40 years of age, unemployed
Kyle Alexander Williams, B/M, Stone Mountain, GA, 32 years of age, landscaper
Roger Kyle Nicholson, W/M, Gainesville, GA, 44 years of age, unemployed
Jacob Perry Yeamans, W/M, Madison, Wisconsin, 61 years of age
Rene Mauricio Posada, W/M; Marietta, GA, 29 years of age, sales manager
Jackson Cain Butler, W/M, Calhoun, GA, 20 years of age, sales
John Andrew Odell, W/M, Cumming, GA, 40 years of age, truck driver
Michael Keith Coker, W/M; Augusta State Prison, 29 years of age, unemployed
Richard Edward Hazelwood, B/M, Roswell, GA 49 years of age, drug representative
Johnathon Dale Butler, W/M, Palmall, TN, 25 years of age, unemployed
Mackenzi Faye Stinson, W/F, Palmall, TN, 19 years of age, sales associate
Mahesh Kumar Saroj, W/M, Alpharetta, GA, 35 years of age, Information Technology
Christopher Scott Taylor, W/M, Cumming, GA, 29 years of age, construction
Joseph Ryan Lisnock, W/M, Gainesville, GA, 22 years of age, Landscaper
Dylan Blair Nessmith, W/M, Johns Creek, GA, 23 years of age, mechanic
Austin Wayne Rhodes, W/M, Alpharetta, GA, 22 years of age, Mechanic
Daniel Dennis Rogan, W/M, Witchita, KS, 47 years of age, Vehicle Transporter
Jason Lee McIntyre, W/M, Gainesville, GA, 35 years of age, Supervisor
Gavin Austen Peppers, W/M, Bowman, GA, 21 years of age, hotel clerk
Jimmy Webster Roy, W/M, Gainesville, GA, 21 years of age, mover
Anthony Christian Ceja, W/M, Lawrenceville, GA, 23 years of age, laborer
Steven Charles Vinnenberg, W/M, Cumming, Ga. 65 years of age
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