In north Texas, authorities busted 15 alleged sexual predators following a week-long, multi-agency child pornography sting in the outlying Dallas metropolitan area.
On Monday, Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner announced the undercover investigation into the online sexual exploitation of children ended with the arrests of 15 local men, all charged with offenses ranging from Promotion of Child Pornography to Online Solicitation of a Minor.
The probe, known as Operation Medusa, sought to unmask predators engaging in the sexual exploitation of children. Numerous local law enforcement agencies worked together in the operation. Included among them were the police departments in Allen, Dallas, Frisco, Garland, Grand Prairie, McKinney, Mesquite, Murphy, Plano, Sherman, and Wylie, which Skinner thanked for their cooperation.
The Collin County Sheriff also expressed his appreciation to participating state and federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District; and the Collin County District Attorney’s Office.
“Operation Medusa an excellent example of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies working together to bring justice to those predators who seek to harm our children,” said Skinner in a prepared statement.
“To be clear, if you traffic or trade in child pornography, or you come to Collin County with the intent to have sex with a child, know that we are hunting for you. We will protect our children,” he emphasized.
Investigators with the operation also seized hard drives plus other electronic devices and evidence for further forensic examination into the alleged crimes of the 15 Collin County men arrested on Monday.
Named among the individuals charged with possession of child pornography were Richard Coccaro, Julien Duhec, Scot Eenigenburg, Jason Gyorfi, Thomas Higgins, Kirk Martinez, Eric Montalvo, Christopher Reddick, Deryl Reed, and Gustavo Villalobos, according to The Dallas Morning News. Authorities charged county residents Rick Huss with invasive visual recording, Daniel McLean on possession with intent to promote child pornography, Philipjohn Ramkissoon for online solicitation of a minor, and Roberto Hernandez, whose charges remain unknown.
CBS DFW reported that several of the men taken into custody already bonded out of jail. They noted Martinez is a Plano 911 dispatcher now placed on administrative leave. Court documents revealed he sent child pornography to an undercover detective to convince her to let him “play” with her 10-year-old child. Another one of the men charged with possession of child pornography is Richard Butterly, owner of the popular Poor Richard’s Café in Plano.
Dan Powers of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County noted this problem spans every economic, social, and ethnic group. Often communities are surprised by whom gets outed for this heinous crime. “People who hurt kids are often people who people trust around kids. To get access to kids you have to be a nice person,” he told CBS DFW.
Bringing much gravity to the bigger reality of the horrific situation, Powers stated: “Child pornography is not just pictures of naked kids. They’re brutally, horribly tortured and abused in those photos and those movies. It’s terrible, terrible stuff. If you have to see it, you will never be able to scrub that from your mind.”
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