DECATUR, GA (PR) – 22 people were arrested over a four day period beginning Thursday, May14, 2015. The arrestees, ranging in age from 19 to 52, traveled from areas around Augusta, Georgia, and from South Carolina with the intent to meet a child for sex. Some of their occupations included actor, funeral home director, tire salesman, electrician, software programmer, correctional officer, pharmacy tech, student and Deputy Jailer.As a result of an undercover investigation coordinated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit (CEACC), the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, 22 people were arrested over a four day period beginning Thursday, May14, 2015.
Those arrested were charged with Criminal Attempt to Commit Child Molestation, OCGA 16-4-1.
Additional charges may be forthcoming.
“Operation Mayday” was a four day effort centered in Richmond County, GA. The operation took months of planning.
The arrestees, ranging in age from 19 to 52, traveled from areas around Augusta and from South Carolina with the intent to meet a child for sex. Some of their occupations included actor, funeral home director, tire salesman, electrician, software programmer, correctional officer, pharmacy tech, student and Deputy Jailer.
The following were arrested and charged in Richmond County as part of “Operation Mayday”:
1. Thomas Michael Moxley, Jr., W/M, from Aiken, SC, 43 years of age, occupation = tire store employee
2. Cody Allen Bondurant, W/M, from Martinez, GA, 23 years of age, occupation = actor
3. Paul Ellis Kitchens, W/M, from Augusta, GA 44 years of age, occupation = funeral home director
4. Richard Dean Tyndall W/M, from Evans, GA, 24 years of age, occupation = electrician
5. Leon Cornelius Holley, B/M, from Grovetown, GA, 20 years of age, occupation = retail stocker
6. John Kenneth Crowley, W/M, from Augusta, GA, 30 years of age, occupation = unemployed
7. Kyle Andrew Negus, W/M, from Augusta, GA, 26 years of age, occupation = software programmer
8. Travis Demond Driggers, B/M, from Louisville, GA, 34 years of age, occupation = correctional officer
9. Matthew Kyle Sears, W/M, from Augusta, GA, 25 years of age, occupation = tire store employee
10. Matthew Robert Tyndall, W/M, from Augusta, GA, 25 years of age, occupation = restaurant manager
11. Cody Justin Pobanz, W/M, from Augusta, GA, 27 years of age, occupation = crane tech
12. Christopher Anthony Titre, B/M, Martinez, GA, 22 years of age, occupation = grocery store employee
13. Jordan Andrew Waters, W/M, Beach Island, SC, 22 years of age, occupation = pharmacy
14. Ruben Ellis Reese, W/M, Martinez, GA, 52 years of age, occupation = Deputy Jailer
15. Nicholas Sebastian Barber, W/M, Martinez, GA, 23 years of age, occupation = pool attendant
16. Ian B. Shelby, W/M, Martinez, GA, 25 years of age, occupation = university student
17. Everett Ryan Lewis, W/M, Baxley, GA, 21 years of age, occupation = laborer
18. Heather Elyssa Myers, W/F, 19 years of age, Fort Gordon, GA, occupation = soldier
19. Reginald Martinez Grubbs, B/M, Waynesboro, GA, 40 years age, occupation = truck driver
20. Jordan Blake Roberts, W/M, Grovetown, GA, 21 years of age, occupation = Airman
21. Nicholas Michael Hopkins, W/M, Evans, GA, 25 years of age, occupation = landscaper
22. Tyler Alexander Judkins, W/M, Evans, GA, 19 years of age, occupation = student
Along with the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit (CEACC), the Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center (GISAC) and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, sixteen (16) additional law enforcement agencies and prosecutors’ offices participated in “Operation Mayday” as members of the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
These agencies were:
1) Alpharetta Police Department
2) Atlanta Police Department
3) Carrollton Police Department
4) Cobb County Police Department
5) Columbus Police Department
6) Coweta County Sheriff’s Office
7) DeKalb County Police Department
8) Effingham Police Department
9) Kennesaw Police Department
10) Moultrie Police Department
11) Richmond County District Attorney’s Office
12) Woodstock Police Department
13) State Board of Pardons and Paroles
14) US Secret Service
15) US Attorney’s Office, Southern District
16) Federal Bureau of Investigation
Sex Trafficking
The purpose of “Operation Mayday” was to arrest persons who communicate with children on-line and then travel to meet them for the purpose of having sex. On-line child predators visit chat rooms and websites on the internet, find children, begin conversations with them, introduce sexual content and arrange a meeting with the children for the purpose of having sex. The children these predators target are both boys and girls. In addition, the operation targeted those that are willing to exploit children by purchasing sex with a minor, and the recruitment of victims of child sex trafficking.
The proactive on-line investigation was a coordinated effort among all the law enforcement agencies to combat this activity.
Six (6) of those arrested also admitted to previous sexual contact with children. One offender arrived with two firearms in his vehicle. Additionally, multiple phones and digital devices were seized. Those devices will be processed and analyzed and additional charges may be filed after reviewing the results of that analysis.
The Georgia ICAC Task Force is comprised of 200+ local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, other related criminal justice agencies and prosecutor’s offices. The mission of the ICAC Task Force, created by the U. S. Department of Justice and managed and operated by the GBI in Georgia, is to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in developing an effective response to cyber enticement and child pornography cases. This support encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, prevention and community education.
The ICAC Program was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the internet, the proliferation of child pornography, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims. By helping state and local law enforcement agencies develop effective and sustainable responses to online child victimization and child pornography, the ICAC program delivers national resources at the local level.
The Georgia ICAC Task Force made 185 arrests in 2014 and has made over 1,300 arrests since its inception in 2002.
People should really do look more into these sex stings. To begin with most of these men were on ADULT dating sites and were looking to meet other adults. Law enforcement sets up fake account on sites that require everyone to be 18+ to enter. In many instances they initiated the first contact with these men and then gear the conversation to a sexual nature. After they get these men interested they do a bait and switch with their age. This is nothing more than entrapment at the end of the day! For one thing, look at the ages of these young men. Most were simply young men that made a bad choice after law enforcement hounded them to death and had their hormones rolling. Think about it people-what are the chances that in a four day operation they actually found 22 true predators are living in the same general vicinity? These operations are nothing more than getting large numbers to publish over the news media in order to keep the federal funding coming their way. It should be illegal for law enforcement to enter these sites claiming to be at least 18 and then contacting people and doing a switch on their age. If you don't think that is the case google sex sting operations in Florida to get a better understanding of how this is nothing more than entrapment to keep arrest numbers high. People and their families are ruined by mess like this and the majority are not pedophiles, predators or whatever society chooses to label them as.
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