BLOUNT COUNTY, Ala. — More than a year after launching a major sting operation targeting child predators, the Blount County Sheriff’s Office continues to make significant arrests.
The initiative began in January 2024, when Blount County deputies partnered with Chris Hansen and Michigan’s G.H.O.S.T. team to conduct their first undercover sting. Sheriff Moon said, “We’ve just kind of progressed from there, you know, Chris is always eager to come down and be involved with us.”
Since the inception of the sting operations, 27 individuals have been arrested. The operation involves deputies posing as minors during online chats. Once a suspect believes they are communicating with a minor and agrees to meet, they are directed to a location where many end up arriving in person.
Sheriff Moon explained, “We’ve had some that our chatters and our investigators will talk to on day one and they may not show up until day two or day three, we have some that our chatters will talk to for 30 minutes, they’re committed, and they are on their way.”
While some suspects engage in online chats but back out before meeting, those who physically arrive face immediate arrest. Moon noted the challenges in tracking those who back out, saying, “We do our best to try to locate those using IP addresses and things like that, problem is that they’re using burner phones and things that can’t be tracked.”
The sheriff also highlighted the shock of recognizing some suspects, stating, “Not just me, but multiple people here in this department know them when they get out of the car and start walking towards the door, so those have been very jarring.”
The Blount County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to combating child predators and will continue its operations as long as offenders continue to appear.
