Both Dalton Lynn Gilliland, 31, and Yovani Alan Cruz Martinez, 20, are residents of Blountsville, Blount County, Alabama, United States. They were recently arrested in Cullman, Cullman County, Alabama.
Blountsville has two schools namely J.B. Pennington High School and Blountsville Elementary School. The town is home to the Spring Valley Beach Water Park.
Gilliland and Martinez were each charged with traveling to meet a child for an unlawful sex act and electronic solicitation of a child. It was part of a child exploitation sting operation conducted on October 13, 2023.
Including Gilliland and Martinez, eight men were arrested by the Cullman Police Department‘s Investigative Division and Tactical Unit. The investigation into the arrestees is ongoing.
More charges are likely to follow, according to the Cullman Police Department. More arrests are expected, as well.
Despite not receiving man child exploitation complaints, the department decided to run the sting operation with the understanding that child exploitation is a problem across the U.S., according to the department’s public information officer Adam Clark. He urged parents to pay attention to their children’s use of social media.
In the operation, the department was assisted by Cullman County district attorney Champ Crocker and the Covenant Rescue Group. Based in Gardendale, Jefferson County, Alabama, the group is a nonprofit comprised of former military special operators and law enforcement personnel committed to putting an end to human trafficking.
CONAN Daily 