More than a dozen men arrested for child sex crimes in South Carolina undercover operation
'Operation November Rain' led to multiple arrests of adults sharing inappropriate materials and soliciting underage children for online sex
Thirteen men accused of various child sex crimes are now in custody, according to Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis.
A press conference was held in Greenville at the Law Enforcement Center on Friday, announcing the outcome of "Operation November Rain," hosted by the Greenville County Sheriff's Office from Nov. 1-4, 2022.
"The operation was formed and executed for the purpose of catching adults who are soliciting underage children for online sex and sharing inappropriate material,โ Sheriff Lewis said.
Undercover investigators posed as children under the age of 16 during the operation to chat with willing adults who would either set up a time to meet with the minor for sex or share sexual material online.
"Us at the Attorney Generalโs Office are dealing with children 6, 7, 8, and 9 years old sharing sexual content and chatting with adults,โ ICAC Commander with the South Carolina Attorney General's Office Kevin Atkins said.
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Out of the 13 arrests made, 10 of which traveled to and were arrested in Greenville County. Three others were arrested for sharing sexual materials during online chats.
"In all, 10 individuals, adults agreed to meet someone they believed was a minor child and drove to the agreed upon location in Greenville County where they thought they were going to engage in sex with this young teenage boy or girl,โ Sheriff Lewis said. "One of these travelers came as far as Athens, Tennessee, to meet up with a teenager for sex. Another was already registered as a sex offender in North Carolina.โ
The individuals would be taken into custody at the meet-up locations in Greenville County.
โUndoubtedly, they have prevented the future of victimization and exploitation of children,โ HSI Special Agent Scott Crabb said.
Below is a list of the 13 men arrested and charged:
Dallon Christopher Barnwell, 20, was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor.
Justin Ty Serafini, 25, was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor.
Cristhian Josue Bonilla-Jimenez, 27, was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor.
Chad Michael Whitman, 30, was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor.
Joshua Charles Straub, 30, was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor.
Brian Cortes, 32, was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, disseminating obscene material to a person under 18 years of age and criminal solicitation of a minor.
Kevin Michael Polich, 36, was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor.
Brandon Edward Howard, 36, was charged with criminal solicitation of a minor.
Heath Justin Ramey, 40, was charged with criminal solicitation of a minor.
Benjamin Solano Zamora, 39, was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor.
James Albert Hook, 41, was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor.
Peter Sreckovich, 51, was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, disseminating obscene material to a person under 18 years of age and criminal solicitation of a minor.
Steve Michael Worrell, 68, was charged with two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of criminal solicitation of a minor.
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