GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., /USNewswire/ — Attorney General Mike Cox and Kent County Sheriff Larry Stelma Monday announced the arrest of 21 individuals who allegedly attempted to engage in sexual activity with children they met on the Internet.
The arrests resulted from a Internet Child Predator Sting conducted in Kent County from October 17 to 19. The suspects were arrested by attorney general agents and Kent County Sheriff deputies at or near a decoy home in Grand Rapids after engaging in explicit Internet chats with undercover agents posing as children.
Virtually all defendants face at least two 20-year felonies: one for Child Sexually Abusive Activity and another for using a computer to engage in that crime.‚ Defendants who sent sexually explicit material online face additional counts.‚ The attorney general’s office, which will handle the prosecutions, has requested a minimum $50,000 cash bond for each defendant.
An additional round of arrests will follow for individuals who transmitted sexually explicit material, but did not travel to the decoy location.
The defendants from this operation all are men, ranging in age from 20 to 65.‚ A majority of the defendants are from West Michigan, some residing only several miles from the decoy house, while others drove hundreds of miles, the attorney general’s office said. Seventeen of the defendants arrested were from Michigan, three were from Indiana, and one from Illinois.
Many defendants carried condoms and some had prior criminal convictions, including domestic violence and home invasion.‚ One reported being an employee for a toy store, while another admitted to kissing his wife goodbye as his two young children were asleep, authorities say.
Michigan has dealt with an upswing in this kind of behavior. Prior to this operation, Cox’s office had already arrested more than 200 Internet predators.
“Internet predators are a dangerous everyday threat to Michigan’s children,” Cox said. “This is a reminder that the Internet allows predators into our homes without even opening a door.”
Sheriff Stelma reminded parents to keep a close watch on their children’s Internet usage.
“This is a great example of law enforcement officials working together to make our community safe,”‚ Stelma said.‚ “It’s important for adults to monitor our children’s Internet activities by providing instruction and establishing rules, such as what kind of sites they can visit, when they can go on line, and how long they can stay there.”
Edited only for length and style