DOTHAN, Ala. – Members of many agencies, including the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, gathered Tuesday to discuss the outcomes of a recent multi-day operation aimed at removing child predators from the streets, which resulted in seven arrests.
The Houston County Sheriff’s Office was assisted in “Operation Back to School” by ALEA’s Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, the Dothan Police Department, the Dale County Sheriff’s Office, the Houston County District Attorney’s Office 20th Judicial Circuit, representatives from Homeland Security, U.S. Marshals, the Gulf Coast Regional Task Force, the 17th Circuit Drug Task Force, and Covenant Rescue Group.
Primary Bill Rafferty of the HCSO and Investigator Chris Summerlin went over the primary findings of the joint investigation that took place between August 10 and 11.
All seven suspects were arrested during the joint investigation, which took place between August 10 and 11, after they were reported to have travelled to the Houston County area believing they were answering online advertisements to meet with a 14-year-old female for sex in exchange for money. Undercover Houston County Sheriff’s Office agents posted the ads on various websites.
The following are the names of the seven people arrested:
- Vidal Deshon Guice, 28 of Troy
- Brandon Denard Mitchell, 38 of Arlington, GA, registered sex offender
- Jameson Isreal Lopez-Chanchavac, 21 of Thomasville, GA
- Pierre Andra Hyck, 41 of Dothan
- Wilmer Jaziel Ponce-Gomez, 26 of Ozark
- Jazzmund Deonte Cunningham, 26 of Slocomb
- Jakhari Isiah Martin, 28 of Dothan
Each of the seven has been charged with first-degree Human Trafficking, Electronic Solicitation of a Child by Computer Device, and Traveling to Meet a Child for an Unlawful Sex Act, according to Rafferty.
“I think one of the main things we want to get across right here is parents: pay attention to what your kids are doing, what they are on, their social media because there are predators that will come after them,” explained Rafferty. “It is quite evident by these 7 arrests that these individuals, knowing they were coming to meet a 14-year-old for illegal sex acts, chose to do so. These agencies will continue to work to take predators off the streets.”
The reality of the situation they are experiencing locally led Summerlin and the other agency leaders present at the news conference that focused on crimes against children to take action.
“We are seeing an overabundance of 14 to 15-year-old juveniles involved in either being victims of or soliciting themselves,” said Summerlin. “This operation was designed to go after the people that solicit that certain age group of people. It happens in your own backyard, this is in the city limits of Dothan.”
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