“Operation Summer Sentinel”: Ten arrested in undercover sting targeting child predators | #childpredator | #kidsaftey | #childsaftey

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – An undercover operation in Okaloosa County recently landed multiple people behind bars.

According to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, “Operation Summer Sentinel” took place between July 22 and July 25. It targeted people using the internet to solicit children.

Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Homeland Security Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) all took part in the investigation.

The arrests and charges are listed below:

• Eric Scott Haakenson – Charged with Use of a Computer to Solicit a Minor, Traveling to Meet a Minor, and Use of a Two-Way Communications Device to Facilitate a Felony.
• Mitchell David Burge – Charged with Use of a Computer to Solicit a Minor, Traveling to Meet a Minor, and Use of a Two-Way Communications Device to Facilitate a Felony.
• Thomas Nathanael Howell – Charged with Use of a Computer to Solicit a Minor, Traveling to Meet a Minor, and Useof a Two-Way Communications Device to Facilitate a Felony.
• Joshua Logan Starns – Charged with Use of a Computer to Solicit a Minor, Traveling to Meet a Minor, and Use of a Two-Way Communications Device to Facilitate a Felony.
• Clayton James Kroesche – Charged with Use of a Computer to Solicit a Minor, Traveling to Meet a Minor, Use of a Two-Way Communications Device to Facilitate a Felony, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony.
• Daniel Warner Stivers – Charged with Use of a Computer to Solicit a Minor, Traveling to Meet a Minor, and Use of a Two-Way Communications Device to Facilitate a Felony.
• Gabriel Taylor – Charged with Use of a Computer to Solicit a Minor, Traveling to Meet a Minor, Use of a Two-Way Communications Device to Facilitate a Felony, and Attempted Lewd or Lascivious Performance by a Child.
• Joshua Samuel Shelfer (Pleasant Home School Teacher) – Charged with Use of a Computer to Solicit a Minor, Traveling to Meet a Minor, and Use of a Two-Way Communications Device to Facilitate a Felony.
• Heriberto Santos Godinez – Charged with Use of a Computer to Solicit a Minor, Traveling to Meet a Minor, Use of a Two-Way Communications Device to Facilitate a Felony, and Two Counts of Transmitting Harmful Material to a Minor.

Registered sex offender Sean Jeffrey Watson, who was on pretrial release, was arrested and had his bond revoked. Investigators say Watson had child sexual abuse material and violated Florida laws by using a dating app to communicate with what he believed were juvenile males, leading to a new charge of failure to register an internet identifier.

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