Undercover operation nabs 12 child predators who thought they were meeting teen girl
The Cherokee Sheriff's Office said it worked with local, state, and federal agencies to conduct 'Operation Phantom Whisper.'
During the operation, undercover officers posed as underaged girls in an effort to target the suspects who are accused of arranging to meet who they believed to be a 14-year-old girl for sex.
'People who prey on our children will always be our highest priority. You will be arrested, prosecuted, and you will be removed from society,' said Cherokee Sheriff Frank Reynolds.
'The Cherokee Sheriff's office worked in conjunction with a number of local, state, and federal agencies to conduct this undercover operation, targeting basically anyone who is looking to prey or exploit our children in our community. Twelve individuals were arrested over this three-day period, which is quite substantial,' said Patty Pan, Cherokee County Sheriff's Public Information Officer.
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Investigators said 11 of the 12 suspects traveled to various locations in Cherokee County with the intent of having sex with a 14-year-old girl.
One of the suspects lives in North Carolina. The other suspects live in Georgia.
'Undercover officers posing as a 14-year-old girl would be online, and basically, they would do this over the 72-hour undercover operation,' Pan said. 'These suspects would initiate contact, then there would be a prearranged meeting location, and when these individuals would show up at these locations thinking that they were going to be meeting with a 14-year-old girl, instead they met with us.'
'This undercover operation was a success because of the agencies that we partnered with. We do have a strong message for parents really all over that you really need to monitor your children, their online activity, talk to them about these online predators,' Pan continued.
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