Darke County Sheriffs Department Corrections Officer Rick Genovesi leads four men out of the Darke County Courthouse where they were arraigned Monday. After a local sting operation last weekend, seventeen men were indicted yesterday on charges of attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
Perverted Justice, Dateline and local authorities crack down on Internet sexual predators
GREENVILLE Seventeen men, ranging from a Catholic school teacher to a convicted felon, were arraigned in Darke County Common Pleas Court Monday after a weekend sting operation to catch Internet sexual predators and combat pedophilia, according to local authorities.
Darke County Sheriff's deputies arrested the men after they went to a rural Greenville Township home with the alleged intention of having sex with children. They were all charged with attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
The sheriff's department conducted the sting jointly with a non-profit organization called Perverted Justice and the nationally-broadcast news program, Dateline NBC. It started Friday and continued through Sunday.
Perverted Justice volunteer contributors over the last two weeks posed in Internet chatrooms as male and female Darke County juveniles ages 13 to 15.
The alleged offenders, ages 19 to 47, reside as close as West Milton and as far as Lexington, Ky., Euclid, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Ind.
Darke County Sheriff's Det. Mike Burns said no Darke countians were arrested, but indicated that the "contributors" received some interest from less than 10 Darke County people, who for some reason, did not follow through after their online chats.
"That doesn't mean the intent or desire wasn't there," Burns said.
The arrested men came from all walks of life, including an educator, a computer systems manager and some in the medical field. A few were students.
"The contributors simply went into Internet chatrooms with fake online screen names and waited for predators to instigate conversations with them in an effort to identify online Internet users who may be pursuing children for illegal sexual conduct," according to a Darke County Prosecutor's Office press release.
"The predators had made arrangements to meet a posed juvenile for the explicit purpose of engaging in sexual conduct at a residence located in Greenville Township and rented by NBC. News correspondents and hidden cameras were waiting in the home as part of Dateline's ongoing 'To Catch a Predator' investigation into computer sex predators," the release stated.
The charges range from fourth to fifth degree felonies, depending on the ages of the perpetrator and victim. If convicted, most of the alleged predators could face a maximum 18 months in prison and $5,000 fine, in addition to sexual offender registration for at least 10 years.
Darke County Judge Jonathan Hein set bond for the defendants, ranging from $2,500 to $100,000.
The eldest alleged offender, from New Lebanon, Ohio, received the highest bond because of previous sexual offenses. He was charged with a third degree felony. Two men, who are students here from foreign countries, received $25,000 bonds.
Sixteen of the reputed predators chatted with someone posing as a 13- to 15-year-old female. A Kettering man thought he was communicating with a 14-year-old male.
A few defendants have acquired attorneys. Local court-appointed counsel was selected in some cases.
'One of the biggest stings ever'
Burns said he had less than two weeks to get the sting operation underway.
"I think it went very well," he said. "The level of cooperation we received from Perverted Justice in helping orchestrate this and put it all together was unbelievable. For our department, it was a team effort. It was phenomenal."
He said at least 20 deputies were involved, not counting jail staff.
"They were on location at 9 a.m. for briefings and most stayed until 2 or 3 every morning," Burns said. "People were dead-dog tired and there was no complaining of long hours. They were so well brought into it that they put fatigue aside and maintained a high level of performance.
"We've had some big stings, but this is probably one of the biggest ever," he added.
There were other organizations involved in the sting, according to Burns, including an investigative firm out of New York which helped with camera concealment.
"They were doing audio and video inside and outside," Burns said.
Darke County prosecutors said the video evidence is overwhelming, according to local news sources.
Van Wert County assisted Darke with housing the alleged offenders throughout the weekend.
Burns said there were no confrontations during the arrests.
"Even the suspects were cooperative," he said. "They had no objection being recorded."
Burns said he has been working with Perverted Justice for two to three months, but not on this specific project.
"We had talked about doing a sting and I called them ... two weeks ago today. ...They said they wanted to do this in our jurisdiction," Burns said after the arraignments.
Ongoing investigation
The detective said the sheriff's department is not finished investigating this case.
"We'll be following up," Burns said. "We will be going after computers, with probably more charges coming after this. The passing of pornography is not even addressed yet, and there are deportation issues."
There is at least another person who will be arrested, he said. That person, believed to be an Indiana doctor, was headed to the sting location when he was stopped by officers on a traffic violation and it was learned he had an outstanding warrant.
A special grand jury will convene Monday for possible indictments. Preliminary hearings for most the accused will be April 5 at Darke County Municipal Court.
Burns said his department will maintain teamwork with Perverted Justice.
"If there's activity, we'll pursue it," he said.
This effort is expected to be subsequently aired by NBC as the fourth in its series. In the courtroom Monday were crew members from Dateline NBC, including its producer Lynn Keller and some cameramen.
"This broadcast will have a twist to it," Burns said. "This will be about rural America."
Those arrested and charged, according to WHIOTV.com, are:
* Joshua L. Tuttle Franklin, Ohio
* Nicholas L. Bailey Grove City, Ohio
* Jason F. Schoeppner Columbus, Ohio
* Nathan E. Downhour Montpelier, Ind.
* Robb E. Kline Toledo, Ohio
* Timothy E. Isaac Reynoldsburg, Ohio
* James M. Rutherford Mainville, Ohio
* Ronnell D. Stephens Ft. Wayne, Ind.
* Alonzo H. Wade Greenfield, Ohio
* Davut Ozkan Euclid, Ohio
* Mahadevaswamy A. Chandrashekaraiah Lexington, Ky.
* John W. Frantz West Milton, Ohio
* Jay W. Reffner Findlay, Ohio
* Kenneth J. Brinkman Kettering, Ohio
* Jeffrey D. Stacy Lebanon, Ohio
* Roger W. Burmmitt Defiance, Ohio
* Kevin T. Westerbeck New Lebanon, Ohio
Linda Moody is an assistant editor for the Daily Advocate. She can be reached at lmoody@dailyadvocate.com.
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