Eight men thought they were meeting a 14-year-old for sex, instead were arrested by SRSO during undercover operation
Eight men were arrested by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office after a multi-agency internet chat operation where they agreed to meet an underage individual for sex, according to Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson.
All eight individuals thought they were meeting a 14-year-old female and instead ended up being arrested by a sheriff’s deputy, Johnson said.
Overall, 27 felony charges were handed out, plus two misdemeanors, according to Johnson.
The individuals arrested were Lloyd Ashley Resureccion, 60, of Fort Walton Beach; Cameron Joel Neely-Dane, 25, of Pace; Matthew John Short, 27, of Pensacola; Andrew Scott Roach, 31, of Saraland, Alabama; Deevon Keeshawn Henry, 20, of Pensacola; Kam’ron Pierre Walker, 26, of Fort Walton Beach; Aiden Christopher Harris, 19, of Milton; Shawn Michael Reinhard, 60, of Shalimar.
“This just goes to show, if you have children, check their cell phone and check their accounts,” Johnson said. “You have people like this who are coming for them. Make no mistake about it, if that was a 14-year-old girl they were meeting, they were up to no good.”
- Resureccion and Neely-Dane were charged with three felonies: travel to meet/ use computer solicit guardian, use of two-way communication device to facilitate felony, use of computer to seduce/solicit/lure child.
- Short was charged with four felonies — use of computer to seduce/solicit/lure child, travel to meet after using computer to lure child, use of two-way communication device to facilitate felony, and transmit info harmful to minors.
- Roach was charged with three felonies — use computer/seduce/solicit/lure child misrepresent age; travel to meet after using computer to lure child; and use of two-way communication device to facilitate felony.
- Henry was charged with three felonies — use of computer to seduce/solicit/lure child, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, and use of two-way communication device to facilitate felony.
- Walker was charged with four felonies — use of computer to seduce/solicit/lure child misrepresent age, travel to meet after using computer to lure child, use of two-way communication device to facilitate felony, use display etc. firearm during felony. He also was charged with a misdemeanor for marijuana possession.
- Harris was charged with three felonies — use of computer to seduce/solicit/lure child; travel to meet after using computer to lure child; use of two-way communication devices to facilitate felony.
- Reinhard was charged with four felonies — use of computer to seduce/solicit/lure child; travel to meet after using computer to lure child; use of two-way communication devices to facilitate felony; use, display, etc. firearm during felony.
“This is the tip of the iceberg. For every one we get, there’s probably 500 that we don’t,” Johnson said. “Don’t think that just because my jail is getting full with people like this that your kids are safe. Online, they will come from across the country to get your child.”
According to the SRSO, during this operation, deputies and agents posted as children on commonly used social media outlets and chat applications. After the undercover officers clearly identified themselves as minors, the suspects proceeded to send explicit messages detailing their requests, some including photos or videos.
When the suspects arrived at the pre-arranged location, they were taken into custody. An additional 11 suspects are pending charges and are currently under investigation for various felony offenses relating to their online communications with minors.
The operation occurred between Aug. 20 – Aug. 23 and included the assistance of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Escambia County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO), Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and Air Force Office of Special Operations (Air Force OSI).