27 online offenders arrested in undercover operation, Cuyahoga County prosecutor says

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CLEVELAND (WJW) — The Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force has arrested 27 online offenders who were identified through an undercover operation.

According to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley, the purpose of the ICAC operation was to identify and arrest individuals interested in engaging in sexual activity with people whom they believed to be minor children.

The alleged offenders range in age between 21 and 61.

They reportedly engaged in sexually explicit online conversations with undercover officers posing as children. Contact was initiated through popular social media applications. Authorities said they had also expressed an interest in engaging in sexual activity with the purported children and/or shared images of their genitals during these online conversations.

Following the online conversations, the individuals traveled to a pre-arranged location, which was a vacant house in Cuyahoga County, to engage in sexual activity with purported children, according to a news release.

Upon their arrival, they were arrested by law enforcement officers and transported to the Cuyahoga County Jail.

Several individuals reportedly possessed firearms, condoms, personal lubricant, sex toys and drugs at the time of their arrest.

The Office of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor released the names of the arrested individuals:

Adam Davis, 41, Painesville, OH
Rajwant Singh, 44, Mayfield Heights, OH
Germaine Truett, 38, Cleveland, OH
Jason Johnson, 37, Cleveland, OH
Ronel Washington, 24, Garfield Heights, OH
Hector Pietri, 29, Cleveland, OH
Kyle Vansteenburg, 28, Cleveland, OH
Raphael Robinson, 26, Cleveland, OH
Corey Huber, 32, Elyria, OH
Michael Labondano, 30, Lyndhurst, OH
Nicholas Cook, 38, Bedford Heights, OH
Chazz Johnson-Hawks, 22, Solon, OH
Ian Rensel, 43, Bedford, OH
Jerry Harris, 35, Westlake, OH
Carson Strnisa, 21, Seven Hills, OH
Justin Cowger, 22, Cleveland, OH
Kim Koran, 61, Cleveland, OH
Nathan Troup, 39, New Castle, PA (Registered Sex Offender in the State of Pennsylvania)
Abed Aldur, 45, Parma, OH
Arturo Martinez, 47, University Heights, OH
Phillip Jones, 30, Streetsboro, OH
Keith Kozak, 41, Brooklyn, OH
Pedro Correa Jr., 42, Cleveland, OH
Ryan Dempsey, 37, Ashtabula, OH
Johnathan Smith, 34, Cleveland, OH
Robert Spisak, 45, Broadview Heights, OH
Jason Schmucker, 37, Canton, OH

Courtesy: Office of Cuyahoga County Prosecutor

Initial charges were filed against these individuals. Those charges include: attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, importuning, and possessing criminal tools.

Each case will be presented to a Cuyahoga County grand jury.

“As we have seen the number of Cybertips dramatically increase this year, it is clear that online predators remain a serious threat to our children,” Prosecutor O’Malley said in a press release. “Hopefully the success of yet another operation serves as a stern warning to offenders that you will be found, you will be arrested, and you will be prosecuted.”