The Canadian County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrest of nine men during an undercover operation from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2 in Canadian County.
The arrests were aimed at targeting individuals involved in child prostitution, soliciting sex from minors and possession of child sexual abuse material.
Six of the defendants were arrested for allegedly engaging in child prostitution, one for possession of child sexual abuse material and two for soliciting sex with a minor.
The arrests were made through the joint efforts of the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office and SOSA (Safe from Online Sex Abuse).
Canadian County Sheriff’s officials said the undercover operation and decoys provided by SOSA made these arrests possible.
Canadian County Sheriff Chris West expressed his satisfaction with the operation’s outcome.
“The safety and well-being of our children is of the utmost importance to us,” West said. “We will continue to work tirelessly to protect them from exploitation and abuse.
“These arrests send a strong message to those who engage in such heinous crimes that they will be caught and brought to justice.”
The investigation began after the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office and SOSA conducted an undercover operation and placed a decoy ad on a popular website used for prostitution.
SOSA posed as the decoy and communicated with the suspects through text messages.
Five adult males allegedly tried to purchase sex from what they believed was a 16-year-old female prostitute. The arrestees were informed in their text messages with the decoy they were talking to a 16-year-old female.
The suspects were identified as Christopher Harris (31 years old), Kevin Nguyen (46), Jason Legate (46), Timothy Alspaugh (46), and John Vu (37). Their bonds were set at $25,000.
Braulio Luna (58) was arrested for allegedly trying to purchase an hour of sex with an 11-year-old female for $300. The suspect allegedly responded to a popular website decoy ad and communicated with what he believed was the child’s mother.
During the conversation, the suspect allegedly agreed to meet with the mother and her child at a Canadian County motel.
During the conversation, the suspect allegedly described wanting to perform heinous sex acts on the child. Part of the agreement allegedly included the arrestee bringing a children’s meal from a popular restaurant and other items to be used to facilitate sexual abuse.
When Luna arrived at the agreed-on location, he was arrested. He allegedly possessed a children’s meal with drinks and other items he was going to use to facilitate the sexual abuse of a child.
During the interview, Luna allegedly admitted to what he was there for and knew it was wrong. While conversing with the decoy, Luna allegedly admitted to sexually abusing an eight-year-old. Investigators are trying to locate that victim. Luna was jailed, and his bond was set at $1,000.
Investigators also arrested two adult males, Omar Hernandez (34) and Cameron Melton (35), for allegedly using social media to exploit children. Decoys used undercover social media accounts and were approached by the two.
Hernandez allegedly sent a nude photograph of his private parts to what he believed was a 15-year-old male boy from Canadian County. During the conversation, Hernandez allegedly stated he had various sexual activities he liked and wanted to pick up the decoy for sex.
Hernandez arrived at the meet location in Canadian County and was arrested for lewd acts with a child. His bond was set at $30,000.
Melton allegedly began a conversation with what he believed to be a fourteen-year-old female. Melton allegedly sent a video to the decoy of him performing sex acts.
Melton was arrested at his residence in Norman, for lewd acts with a child, and his bond was set at $25,000.
Tyler James Marris (27) was arrested for possession of child sexual abuse material. This arrest came from a cybertip from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children.
Marris allegedly used a popular social media application to trade and download child sexual abuse material.
Executing a search warrant on Marris’s electronic devices, investigators recovered multiple images and videos of contraband. Marris allegedly admitted to downloading the contraband and was arrested for possession of child pornography. His bond was set at $25,000.
The Canadian County Sheriff’s Office is a member of the Oklahoma Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Taskforce and works with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to protect children from online exploitation.
