SHALIMAR — The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office arrested six people and has warrants pending on multiple others after a four-day operation dubbed “Operation Safe Summer.”
The operation targeting online sexual predators is the third conducted by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit in the last 11 months, and is something that has remained a top priority for the OCSO, Sheriff Eric Aden said in a YouTube video.
In February:OCSO arrests 10 men in undercover ‘Operation Peek-a-Boo’ targeting online child predators
Prevention tips, more:Online child sexual exploitation cases up 300% in Panhandle. How predators target kids.
“We want to get those people off the street,” Aden said. “We want to deter this behavior, and there’s nothing worse than someone that preys on a child physically, emotionally and certainly sexually.”
Arrested were Walter Mochel, 57, of Shalimar; Densworth Hendricks, 32, of Destin; Steven Hooper, 44, of Fort Walton Beach; John Staggs, 45, of Shalimar; Jordan Towery, 28, of Milton; and Miguel Santa Maria, 22, of Opelika, Alabama.
All six of the suspects reportedly agreed to meet up with undercover officers who they believed were 14-year-old girls after chatting with them online. Arrest reports detail graphic conversations in which suspects reportedly described engaging in sexual acts.
“The chatters are an amazing, integral part of the success of this operation,” Aden said. “These people will travel from a long way away from here just to try and have sex with a minor.”
Mochel faces an additional charge for transmission of harmful material to a minor after reportedly sending a photo of his privates to an undercover officer.
A gun also was reportedly found in Hooper’s vehicle during his arrest. He is charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
According to arrest reports, several suspects later admitted to conversing with the officers who they believed were young girls.
In an interview, Towery reportedly told deputies he was “doing this to save the juvenile because his ex-wife has children around the same age.”
Additional investigators were added to the OCSO ICAC Unit this year. In a previous interview, OCSO Sgt. Joseph Gordon said there has been an about 334% increase in reports of internet crimes against children in Northwest Florida since 2016.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 85 million reports of child sexual abuse material last year, partly due to increased reporting by social media platforms. Aden said he plans to continue to expand the ICAC unit.
The OCSO arrested 10 other men who reportedly traveled to meet minors for sex in a February undercover operation dubbed “Operation Peek-a-Boo,” and another 12 in “Operation Night Owl” last August.
“I want to thank our ICAC division. I want to thank our county commissioners for helping support growing that unit,” Aden said. “Without them we would not be successful in being able to put on operations like this because it is a large scale event.”