LIVINGSTON PARISH, La. (WAFB) – Deputies with the Livingston Parish Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force just arrested three alleged child predators, and local moms say it’s also up to parents to keep their children safe.
RELATED: 3 suspected child predators arrested by Livingston Parish deputies
The task force was created in 2023 and started with just one deputy. Since then, they have added two more and have been able to cover more ground. In the last six months, deputies made over 60 arrests.
“Unfortunately, this is the nature of the world we’re living in,” Angelina Vicknair, Red Stick Mom contributor, said.
Vicknair has two sons who both grew up during the digital age. She says the more time children spend online, the more likely they are to get exposed to external influences.
“Just because you might see someone online that says there are 13-year-old child is that’s not necessarily what you’re going to get,” Vicknair said.
For the past two years, Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies have been investigating child predators through their Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Their latest arrest landed three suspects behind bars: Cecil Roy Anderson and Adrian Alexander Weatherspoon from Louisiana, and Zahery Criley from South Carolina. All three are charged with indecent behavior with juveniles and computer-aided solicitation of a minor.
“I can’t even keep up with the arrests that were made. Because those guys on that task force make so many, I’m very proud of them. The unfortunate thing about that is that there is that many predators out there. And on our children. And so they are very aggressive toward these, these type crimes,” Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said.
Ard says any type of internet access, from social media to in-game chatting, can connect you to people around the world, where hundreds of thousands of predators are waiting to exploit unsuspecting victims—especially children.
“Almost 20 victims already this year, over 45 last year. That is too much. One is too many. And that’s just here in Livingston. I can only imagine what the actual numbers are and just the state of Louisiana, and I’m sure throughout our country, that it gets even bigger it they’re out there; this is real. They’re everywhere. We need to be careful and need to understand what’s going on and not turn a blind eye on this,” Ard said.
Both Ard and Vicknair say as parents, it’s important to educate yourself about tools that can help you monitor and restrict what your child does online, and talk to them about why.
“We need to understand how this works. We’ve had cases where you know the parents have turned phones on other location on the phone, so they know where their kids at. Nothing wrong with that, but also to make sure you’re the only one that can see your child’s location,” Ard said.
“We have very forward conversations with them about things that live on the Internet forever, and sending pictures of yourself to other people. You don’t think that you have to have that conversation necessarily with a younger kid, but you just never know,” Vicknair said.
The task force provides free educational presentations to PTA and school groups. If you are interested, call this number: 225-435-1365.
Click here to report a typo. Please include the headline.
Click here to subscribe to our WAFB 9 News daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.
Copyright 2025 WAFB. All rights reserved.
