The Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEaT) unit of the Phoenix Police Department in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States recently led a multi-agency undercover operation. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) supported the operation, which was conducted to reduce the demand of child sex crimes and human trafficking.
Protecting the public from crimes of victimization is one of the top priorities of HSI, the primary investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. HSI employees are assigned to over 210 cities throughout the U.S. and 80 international offices in 53 other countries.
Undercover detectives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tempe Police Department, the Mesa Police Department, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for Operation Tangled Web and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit of the Phoenix Police Department placed ads on websites commonly sought out by suspects seeking illegal sex acts. Subsequently, the detectives arrested 16 men who solicited or brokered deals for various sex acts with minors.
On October 24, 2022, the results of the undercover operation were announced. Here is the list of the 16 arrestees:
| NAME | AGE | CHARGES |
| Adrian Escobedo Hernandez | 31 | aggravated luring of a minor for sexual exploitation attempted sexual conduct with a minor |
| Arun Mondi | 37 | child sex trafficking attempted sexual conduct with a minor |
| Bryce David Olsen | 36 | luring of a minor for sexual exploitation attempted sexual conduct with a minor |
| Devontae Mitchell | 33 | child sex trafficking attempted sex conduct with a minor |
| Dylan Bunch | 31 | luring of a minor for sexual exploitation attempted sexual conduct with a minor |
| Edmon Tesfai Yohannes | 27 | child sex trafficking (2 counts) attempted sexual conduct with a minor (2 counts) luring of a minor for sexual exploitation (2 counts) |
| Jacob Langley | 25 | aggravated luring of a minor (3 counts) furnishing harmful materials to a minor attempted sexual conduct with a minor |
| John Menapace | 52 | failure to register as a sex offender luring of a minor for sexual exploitation |
| Kyle Kruip | 34 | child sex trafficking attempted sexual conduct with a minor |
| Olalekan Akinyoyenu | 45 | child sex trafficking attempted sexual conduct with a minor money laundering |
| Quinton Hill | 31 | child sex trafficking attempted sexual conduct with a minor |
| Raymond Pina | 19 | child sex trafficking attempted sex conduct with a minor |
| Raymond Wilson | 39 | luring of a minor for sexual exploitation attempted sexual conduct with a minor |
| Roger Bickers | 51 | attempted sexual conduct with a minor luring of a minor for sexual exploitation attempted commercial sexual exploitation of a minor |
| Sai Bodeddula Venkata | 21 | child sex trafficking attempted sexual conduct with a minor |
| Sarath Maddineni | 25 | child sex trafficking attempted sex conduct with a minor |
Before the announcement of the results of the operation, Michael Martinez, 30, was accused of paying a woman $100 for sexual intercourse at a hotel in Phoenix on September 16, 2022. He was a sworn Phoenix Police Department officer working out of the South Mountain Precinct in an administrative job.
On October 16, 2022, Martinez was arrested and booked into jail. He has been released from jail and has resigned from the Phoenix Police Department.
CONAN Daily 