(Greenville News) - The Greenville County Sheriff's Office has charged 45 suspects in a joint operation tied to child sex crimes and human trafficking in the Upstate.
Investigators posed as 14-year-olds in online chats to lure predators to a home where instead of engaging in sex, they were met with handcuffs.
The sheriff's office worked with the Greer Police Department, which served as the base of the operation. Other agencies involved included the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office, the Mauldin Police Department, the S.C. Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The operation took place from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 and again from Feb. 14 to 16.
Child predators were the main targets, but the operation also went after prostitutes and johns, some of whom are believed to be tied to human trafficking, Sheriff Will Lewis announced during a press conference Thursday.
Out of the 45 arrests, 14 were identified as child predators, 10 were accused of prostitution, 17 were accused of soliciting sex from prostitutes and two were accused of human trafficking. Two more suspects identified in the operation were charged with drug crimes.
In total, 70 warrants were signed based on various charges.
Thirty-one individuals identified in connection to the operation are still being sought.
“They are still out there. They are still looking for your kids,” Lewis said. "This was to target and identify sex predators preying on the youth of our community.”
Lewis said the circumstances of each case were painful to learn.
In one case, a man carrying a sexually-transmitted disease was specifically looking to transfer his disease to a 14-year-old.
“He wanted to ruin a child’s life,” Lewis said. “He wanted to actually give a child a disease.”
Another case involved a suspect who wanted to cannibalize the victim, Lewis said.
“Depravity doesn’t even describe this,” he said.
Another suspect arrested indicated he had come from Myrtle Beach with the intention of kidnapping a child to take back to the coast to sell her, Lewis said.
Lewis said those charged are believed to be repeat offenders. One suspect had already been charged with the same crime years prior.
“He was arrested for the same sick and twisted acts that he committed five years ago,” Lewis said.
The operation, titled “Millstone,” is a reference to Matthew 18:6 from the Bible: “If anyone causes one of these little ones – those who believe in me – to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
Some of those charged with prostitution were either victims of human trafficking or traffickers themselves, Lewis said.
He credited the Greenville-based human trafficking awareness organization SWITCH with partnering with law enforcement to help rescue victims out of trafficking.
He also urged parents to closely monitor their children’s social media use and to keep a watchful eye on their interactions with others.
“Every single child is a potential victim,” Lewis said. “Do the right thing for your kids and I promise we’ll see less victims.”
Greer Police Chief Matt Hamby said seven investigators from Greer participated in the operation. The decoy house used in the stings was also in the Greer area.
“We contributed as much as we could,” Hamby said. “We’re very happy to have an opportunity to provide that.”
Hamby called human trafficking “a real problem” particularly in the Upstate and South Carolina based on tourism and well-used interstates.
The sheriff’s office’s Internet Crimes Against Children unit, which has five investigators, needs to expand to continue fighting child predator cases, Lewis said. He said the results from Millstone would quadruple each month if more resources were devoted.
“We want to eliminate the idea that predators want to come to Greenville,” Lewis said. “Our investigators need help. They need more people.”
He plans to ask the County Council for funding to hire five more investigators to make going after child predators a fulltime effort.
“There are tools to cut out this infectious disease of child predators,” Lewis said. “I want to see this disease cut out of our community. We’ve only scratched the surface at this point.”
Below is a list of those charged in Operation Millstone.
- Anatoliy G. Parchuk of Gaffney is charged with prostitution.
- Austin James Perrodin of Greenville is charged with prostitution.
- Betsy A. Turnbow of Greenville is charged with driving under suspension and as a habitual offender.
- Billy J. Lynch of Greer is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor first degree; attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor, or attempt - victim 11 to 14 years of age inclusive second degree; and criminal solicitation of a minor.
- Casey Nicole Brooks of Pelzer is charged with prostitution.
- Courtney Michelle Burns of Simpsonville is charged with possession with the intent to distribute heroin.
- Craig Francis of Baytown, Texas is charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor, or attempt - victim 11 to 14 years of age inclusive second degree; and criminal solicitation of a minor.
- Dajee D. Lamar of Greenville is charged with simple possession of marijuana and prostitution.
- Daniel M. Driggers III of Simpsonville is charged with prostitution.
- Deandra Lattimore is charged with prostitution.
- Delmorris Sancheze Cain of Caycee is charged with attempted unlawful dissemination of obscene material to a person under 18 years of age and two counts of criminal solicitation of a minor.
- Donald Anthony Eaton of Greenville is charged with attempted criminal sexual conduct with minor victim 11 to 14 years of age inclusive second degree; criminal solicitation of a minor; and failing to stop for a blue light, no injury or death - 1st offense.
- Essam Y.F. Botross of Greer is charged with prostitution.
- Ezekiel John Andrukitis of Spartanburg is charged with two counts of criminal solicitation of a minor.
- Halie House is charged with prostitution.
- Heath Edward McGowan of Anderson is charged with prostitution.
- Herbert Roy George of Tucker, Georgia is charged with prostitution.
- Ian Mykael Ray is charged with criminal solicitation of a minor; attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor - victim 11 to 14 years of age inclusive - second degree; and attempted contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
- Jaloliddin Polat Siddik of North Highlands, California is charged with prostitution.
- Jeffery (Jeff) Nathaniel Hall of Spartanburg is charged with prostitution.
- John Robert Dawson IV of Greer is charged with prostitution.
- John R. Moir II of Simpsonville is charged with attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, first degree.
- Jose Rodolfo Morales Ruiz of Greer is charged with prostitution and no South Carolina driver’s license.
- Joshua Quinn Smith of Belton is charged with prostitution.
- Justin T. Bensing of Myrtle Beach is charged with two counts of criminal solicitation of a minor.
- Lanedra Michelle Sullivan of Greenville is charged with possession of marijuana and prostitution.
- Laquayla C. Calwile of Piedmont is charged with prostitution.
- Leon William Anderson III of Inman is charged with trafficking in persons, recruiting, enticing, soliciting, harboring, transporting, or attempts – first offense.
- Levi Chambers is charged with prostitution and no South Carolina driver's license.
- Melody Natasha Renee Pyles of Gray Court is charged with prostitution.
- Mercedes B. Hagood is charged with prostitution.
- Patrick Mckenzie Donnald of Easley is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, first degree; criminal solicitation of a minor; attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor, or attempt - victim 11 to 14 years of age; and attempt to disseminate obscene or unlawful material to a person under 18.
- Paul Allen Ledane of Greenville is charged with criminal solicitation of a minor and two counts of attempt to disseminate obscene or unlawful material to a person under 18.
- Quavil S. Meredith of Spartanburg is charged with prostitution.
- Richard Mark Nolff of Wellford is charged with criminal solicitation of a minor; two counts of attempt to disseminate obscene or unlawful material to a person under 18; and criminal sexual conduct with minor, or attempt - victim 11 to 14 years of age inclusive – second degree.
- Robert Beverly Buckingham of Taylors is charged with prostitution.
- Rodger Allen Bollinger is charged with prostitution.
- Samantha Ann Flayhart of Inman is charged with trafficking in persons, recruiting, enticing, soliciting, harboring, transportation, or attempts - first offense.
- Tamara Dale Bonds of Travelers Rest is charged with possession of other controlled substance in schedule I to V - first offense; and possession of less than one gram of meth. or cocaine base, first offense.
- Thomas Buchanan Carr III of Norris is charged with two counts of criminal solicitation of a minor; attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, first degree; and attempt to disseminate obscene or unlawful material to a person under 18.
- Tiffany Suzanne Smith is charged with possession of less than one gram of meth. or cocaine base, 1st offense.
- Timothy G. Adams of Taylors is charged with criminal solicitation of a minor; criminal sexual conduct with a minor, or attempt - victim 11 to 14 years of age inclusive second degree; and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, first degree.
- Tina M. Smith of Greenville is charged with prostitution and simple possession of marijuana.
- Wayne Allan Elwert of Greenville is charged with attempted unlawful to disseminate obscene material to a person under 18 years of age and criminal solicitation of a minor.
- William Harlan Wilkinson, of Greenville is charged with prostitution.
