Fifteen people have been arrested after a New Mexico Department of Justice investigation found that they allegedly attempted to meet children for sexual activity.
The four-day multiagency operation, titled “Operation Game Over,” had NMDOJ undercover agents create decoy accounts to pose as children in chat rooms and various social media apps.
Among the 15 who were arrested are Ryan Lard, Roman Benjamin, Anthony Larsen, Kyle Stovall, Jeremy Garcia, Jose Arizmendy-Vega, Christopher Purtee, Christopher Frost and Jesus Jacobo.
They were all charged with child solicitation by electronic communication device, according to a Monday news release from Chelsea Pitvorec, spokesperson for NMDOJ.
The department will prosecute the nine cases and the remaining cases will be referred to partner agencies. NMDOJ did not name the other people who were arrested during the operation.
Lard faces up to nine years in prison after he allegedly contacted an NMDOJ undercover account that depicted a 12-year-old girl on May 14. In multiple text messages, he discussed having sex with the undercover agent posing as a girl, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
He later told police that he did not believe the messages were from a 12-year-old and added he would have sent the child home in a Lyft had she been underage.
Benjamin faces up to nine years in prison for allegedly attempting to pay $100 for sex from someone he believed was a 12-year-old on May 13. He told law enforcement that he was “a little apprehensive about it because of her age,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
Larsen was arrested after allegedly asking for sexual photos from someone he believed was a 12-year-old boy. Larsen arranged for the two to meet near a park on May 13 and he was arrested by an undercover officer.
Stovall was arrested after allegedly soliciting a naked photo from someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl on May 12. In various texts, he told undercover agents he wanted to “chat preferably naked and, of course, sex,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
Garcia is accused of messaging an undercover account that claimed to be a 14-year-old boy and sending photos of his penis to an undercover agent on May 12. He described various sexual activities and then arranged for the two to meet, where he was later arrested by law enforcement, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
Arizmendy-Vega allegedly messaged an undercover account that he believed was a 14-year-old girl and attempted to hire the girl for sex on May 11. He told the girl that he would pay $100 to have sex with her, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
Purtee is accused of sending sexual photos of himself to an undercover account that he believed was a 14-year-old boy on May 11. He described various sexual acts that the two would engage in and coordinated a meet-up, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
Frost allegedly sent sexually explicit photos of himself to an undercover account posing as a 14-year-old boy on May 11. He detailed various sexual acts before planning to meet, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
Jacobo is accused of messaging an undercover account he believed was a 14-year-old girl and attempting to hire the girl for sex on May 11. He later told law enforcement that he would not have had sexual intercourse with the girl due to her age, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
“This operation succeeded because law enforcement moved as a single unit and that is exactly the kind of coordinated response New Mexico families deserve,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez in a news release. “Predators who target our children should know they are not anonymous, they are not safe, and they will be held accountable.”
Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.
