VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Five men were taken into custody following an undercover operation aimed at catching child predators last week, according to the Virginia Beach Police Department. It's part of the nationwide initiative called, "Operation Cross Country."
VBPD's Lt. Brent Calhoun with the Special Investigations Unit said detectives posed as a young teenager on various social media platforms. He said that's when a number of men started a conversation.
"We would later find males would engage in conversation...and would be generic at first, but eventually those who showed up to the hotel, those conversations shifted towards wanting to perform sexual activities," Lt. Calhoun explained.
In the conversations, Calhound said the men showed up at a hotel where the detectives told them to meet, still pretending to be the young teen, for sex in exchange for money. When they got to the location, the following men were taken into custody:
- Hyman Stubbs II, 36, of Virginia Beach was charged with Attempt Carnal Knowledge of a Minor, Use of Communications Systems to Facilitate Certain Offenses Involving Children, and Resisting Arrest.
- Geraldpao Balandra, 23, of New Jersey was charged with Attempt Carnal Knowledge of a Minor and Use of Communications Systems to Facilitate Certain Offenses Involving Children.
- Justin Macezinskas, 40, of Virginia Beach was charged with Attempt Carnal Knowledge of a Minor and Use of Communications Systems to Facilitate Certain Offenses Involving Children.
- Reggie Keaton, 45, of Chesapeake was charged with Attempt Carnal Knowledge of a Minor and Use of Communications Systems to Facilitate Certain Offenses Involving Children.
- Elmer Aquilar, 32, of Virginia Beach was charged with Attempt Carnal Knowledge of a Minor and Use of Communications Systems to Facilitate Certain Offenses Involving Children.
Calhoun said all five of the men showed up with sufficient evidence on them, in addition to the messages clearly indicating they wished to perform sexual activities.
Lt. Calhoun said it's a reminder for parents about the dangers of who may be lurking online, saying, "Parents have to play a part in this. Talk to your kids, educate your children about the dangers of what's on the other side of that phone that they're chatting with, because that's sheer proposition for any parent."
He added it's okay to look at your child's phone just to see what messages they may be sending or what platforms they may be using.
The FBI, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), and VBPD conducted the operation.
The FBI-led nationwide campaign helped to locate over 200 victims of sex trafficking nationwide, as well as help identify and arrest 126 individuals for child sexual exploitation or human trafficking offenses.
“Child exploitation is one of the most horrific crimes the FBI investigates, and that’s why we pursue these bad actors so aggressively,” said Brian Dugan, FBI Norfolk Special Agent in Charge.
The FBI Norfolk office leaders sent 13News Now this statement:
"The FBI remains steadfast in its commitment to combatting child exploitation and human trafficking. Operation Cross Country is just one facet of the Bureau's ongoing efforts to protect the most vulnerable members of society and hold offenders accountable.
The FBI encourages continued vigilance, cooperation, and reporting from the public to help identify and recover victims and bring perpetrators to justice."
Calhoun said he is proud of his team for successfully taking part in this initiative.
"Everyone involved in the operation was extremely proud of the work they did that day," Calhoun said.
13News Now requested to speak with the five men while they remain in jail without bond, but they all declined to speak with us.