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Six men have been arrested in recent weeks in southern and Central Oregon in a sting to catch online child sex predators. One of those arrests happened last week in Redmond.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) said the Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET) joint inter-agency task force conducted stings to find and and arrest predators who it says used the internet to meet with local children to have sex.
SOCET used undercover officers posing online as minors. They waited for suspects to proposition them for sex. JCSO said that even after suspects acknowledged the child’s age, they sent sexually explicit messages, photos, and detailed requests of sexual activities they wanted to perform.
The most recent arrest happened March 13 in Redmond. JCSO said Steven Charles Newstrom, 66, of Redmond was caught after he tried to meet a juvenile to have sex. He was arrested by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and faces extradition to Jackson County on charges of second-degree online sexual corruption of a child and luring a minor.
The indictment says the alleged crime happened between Jan. 24 and Feb. 7.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to call JCSO at (541) 774-8333 and reference case number 24-710.
The other suspects arrested in this case:
- Gabriel Julian Harrison-Swinden, 29, of White City. Arrested Jan. 30. According to JCSO, investigators believe Harrison-Swinden may have victimized children throughout the U.S.
- Kelly Patrick Ramsey, 57, of Central Point. Arrested Jan. 30. According to JCSO, investigators believe Harrison-Swinden may have victimized children throughout the U.S.
- Steven Eugene Fitzgerald Buckner, 33, of Tigard. Arrested Feb. 3. According to JCSO, investigators believe Harrison-Swinden may have victimized children throughout the U.S.
- Cayden James Vasquez, 25, of Medford. Arrested Feb. 27.
- Andrew P. Jones, 41, of Milwaukie. Arrested March 12.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in southern Oregon posted this video of an online sex predator sting.
JCSO posted a video on Facebook showing three of the stings in action — something similar to what you might see on “To Catch a Predator.” The suspects walk into the garage of a house and are immediately taken into custody by waiting officers.
“We’ve had cases where people have driven across the country. We’ve had people that were here in our own local area that were sexually abusing children after meeting them online,” said Jackson County Sheriff’s Detective Steve Bohn.
Bohn said if you believe your child is a victim of online sexual exploitation, break off contact with the individual, contact law enforcement, save everything and do not send it out to anyone else,
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