Police arrested five people in Arizona following a months-long operation to combat child exploitation and sex trafficking, including a former detective out on bond for another arrest on the same charges.
The suspects, identified as Jordan Holloway, 26, Ryan Kellerman, 36, Matthew Salley, 38, Daniel May, 40, and Christopher Butts, 44, were arrested between August 26 and September 3, according to a statement from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The operation, called “Operation Home Alone 2,” was intended to target sexual predators “who attempted to lure underage children with the intent of engaging in sexual activity,” authorities said.
Detectives from the Arizona Department of Public Safety and other local, state, and federal agencies — including HSI — were involved in the investigation.
Salley and May, both of Maricopa, Arizona, were arrested on August 26 and charged with one count of luring a minor for sexual exploitation and one count of furnishing harmful items to a minor, according to the statement.
Authorities arrested Holloway the next day on the same charges.
Butts, who used to work as a Maricopa County Sheriff’s detective based out of Phoenix, was arrested on September 2 and charged with one count of luring of a minor for sexual exploitation and one count of furnishing harmful items to a minor.
Officials say Butts was out on bond for a previous arrest on the same charges. Police first arrested the former Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office detective back in March for allegedly planning to meet up with a teen for sex, KPNX reported.
Kellerman, of Maricopa, was arrested on September 3 and charged with one count of aggravated luring of a minor for sexual exploitation and one count of furnishing harmful items to a minor.
Kellerman is also suspected of committing child pornography in a case that falls under the Maricopa Police Department’s purview.
All five suspects were booked into the Pinal County Jail.
Officials say this is an ongoing investigation and additional arrests are still to come.
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