CHEROKEE COUNTY, GA — A child predator sting recently garnered 12 arrests, with Cherokee County authorities accusing 11 people of attempting to engage in sexual activity with a teenage girl.
Operation Phantom Whisper recently spanned three days and involved investigators talking online and posing as underaged girls, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.
Meeting locations were set up, and when the suspects arrived, authorities said they were arrested. Eleven of the 12 arrestees intended to engage in sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl, authorities said.
Agencies in Atlanta, Grovetown, Cobb County and Gwinnett County participated in the operation, as well as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
“The safety and well-being of our children has always been and will always be a top priority,” Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds said in a news release. “The arrests of these individuals sends a strong message that we will not tolerate those who prey on our most vulnerable population.”
Authorities said the following people were arrested:
- Sudhakar Gogireddy, 34, of Alpharetta: trafficking a person for sexual servitude, use computer to seduce, solicit, lure or entice child to commit illegal act, criminal attempt-felony and hold for ICE. No bond.
- Niyell McKindley, 25, of Chadbourn, North Carolina: trafficking a person for sexual servitude, use computer to seduce, solicit, lure or entice child to commit illegal act, criminal attempt-felony. No bond.
- Jonathan Wayne Brian Brackett, 33, of Rome: trafficking a person for sexual servitude, use computer to seduce, solicit, lure or entice child to commit illegal act, criminal attempt-felony. No bond.
- Daylon Emil Figueroa, 29, of Cartersville: trafficking a person for sexual servitude, use computer to seduce, solicit, lure or entice child to commit illegal act, criminal attempt-felony. No bond.
- Jonathan Torres Nunez, 25, of Canton: two counts of criminal attempt-felony, obscene internet contact with child, use computer to seduce, solicit, lure or entice child to commit illegal act. Booked Saturday and bonded out on Monday on a bond of $30,000.
- Nicholas Ryan Robinson, 40, of Blairsville: three counts of criminal attempt-felony, trafficking a person for sexual servitude, use computer to seduce, solicit, lure or entice child to commit illegal act. No bond.
- Steven A. Davis, 36, of Acworth: three counts of criminal attempt-felony, trafficking a person for sexual servitude, use computer to seduce, solicit, lure or entice child to commit illegal act. No bond.
- Kenneth Soto-Jaimes, 22, of Rossville: two counts of criminal attempt-felony, trafficking a person for sexual servitude, use computer to seduce, solicit, lure or entice child to commit illegal act, obscene internet contact with child, possession of firearm/knife during crime/attempt crime. No bond.
- Jose Fernando Salgado, 40, of Griffin: three counts of criminal attempt-felony, trafficking a person for sexual servitude, use computer to seduce, solicit, lure or entice child to commit illegal act. No bond.
- Michael Vang, 31, of Duluth:: two counts of Criminal Attempt – Felony (x2), trafficking a person for sexual servitude, use computer to seduce, solicit, lure or entice child to commit illegal act, criminal attempt-aggravated child molestation, criminal attempt-child molestation. No bond.
- Timothy Morice Drawdy, 49, of Canton: three counts of Criminal Attempt – Felony (x2), trafficking a person for sexual servitude, use computer to seduce, solicit, lure or entice child to commit illegal act. No bond.
- Hunter William Bowman-Daniel, 22, of Canton: seven counts of sexual exploitation of children, create/possess/sell visual medium minor sexually explicit conduct, possess or control any material minor sexual explicit conduct-misdemeanor. Bowman-Daniel was arrested at his home and did not travel to meet the child. Arrested Saturday and bonded out on Tuesday on a $24,500 bond.
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