A truck driver. A sanitation worker. A chef. An aircraft inspector. A HVAC technician. Those are just some of the occupations that 19 online sexual predators were doing before they were arrested during a 4-day operation and 2-month investigation by local and state officials.

The operation began on April 25th after a months-long investigation by the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The operation focused on people engaged in sexually explicit communication with children on the internet, who arranged to engage in sex with a child, and to travel to have sex. This operation targeted those willing to exploit children by purchasing sex with a minor.

“Online child predators use social media and websites on the internet to seek out children to engage in conversations to introduce them to sexual content and arrange a meeting to engage in sex with the child,” Muscogee County Sheriff Greg Countryman said during a Wednesday morning presser. “These sick predators targeted both boys and girls.”

The following were arrested and charged:

• Isael Alvarez, age 43, of Columbus, Georgia, occupation: unknown; charged with Human Trafficking and subject to an ICE Detainer.

• Marquise Anderson, age 37, of Seale, Alabama, occupation: truck driver; charged with Human Trafficking.

• Darnell Brooks, age 40, of Box Springs, Georgia, occupation: laborer; charged with Human Trafficking.

• Roger Burkes, age 62, of Columbus, Georgia, occupation: aircraft inspector; charged with Computer or Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007.

• Javious Davenport, age 30, of LaGrange, Georgia, occupation: forklift operator; charged with Human Trafficking.

• Kevin Edosmwan, age 38, of Atlanta, Georgia, occupation: HVAC technician; charged with Computer or Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007.

• Jonathan Evans, age 46, of LaGrange, Georgia, occupation: sanitation worker; charged with Human Trafficking.

• Galvin Latrell Gordey, age 44, of Pittsview, Alabama, occupation: sanitation worker; charged with Human Trafficking.

• Muhammed Gwandu, age 68, of Ontario, Canada, occupation: unknown; charged with Human Trafficking and subject to an ICE Detainer.

• Gene Melner, age 37, of Palatine, Illinois, occupation: truck driver; charged with Human Trafficking.

• Greggory Corbitt Meeks, age 45, of LaGrange, Georgia, occupation: delivery driver; charged with Human Trafficking.

• Colton Lee McLamb, age 23, of Valley, Alabama, occupation: forklift operator; charged with Computer or Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007.

• Zidarius Poole, age 21, of Columbus, Georgia, occupation: unemployed; charged with Computer or Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007.

• Hunter Salmi, age 22, of Phenix City, Alabama, occupation: mechanic; charged with Computer or Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007.

• Marco Antonio Santos Chavez, age 30, of Fort Payne, Alabama, occupation: painter; charged with Human Trafficking and subject to an ICE Detainer.

• Anthony Seldon, age 34, of Columbus, Georgia, occupation: janitor; charged with Human Trafficking, Fleeing and Attempting to Elude, Reckless Driving, and Willful Obstruction of Law Enforcement Officers.

• Cameron Shelley, age 25, of Columbus, Georgia, occupation: truck driver; charged with Human Trafficking.

• Jungmok Shin, age 33, of Phenix City, Alabama, occupation: engineer; charged with Human Trafficking.

• Carl Sprayberry, age 32, of Columbus, Georgia, occupation: chef; charged with Human Trafficking.

Georgia Bureau of Investigations digital forensic investigators forensically processed 21 seized electronic devices. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations confirmed undercover investigators posing as children had numerous exchanges with persons on various social media and internet platforms where the subjects directed conversations with the child toward sex.

35 cases were established, and 19 were concluded with arrests after the subjects attempted to meet the “child” in person.

“In some of these cases, the subject introduced obscene or lewd content, often exposing what the perpetrator thought was a child to pornography or requesting the child to produce and send sexual or pornographic images for them,” state investigators said. “About half of the exchanges involved websites used for dating, socializing, or even websites used for classified advertisements.”

“Although some websites promote themselves as being for ‘adults only,’ it is not uncommon for law enforcement to work cases in which children access these sites, establish profiles claiming to be older, and then find themselves vulnerable to victimization, harassment, blackmail, or assault,” state investigators added. “Several subjects were identified as communicating simultaneously with multiple investigators posing as minors. Such activity confirms what investigators uncover conducting these types of investigations: that many predators specifically seek out minors on the internet to groom the children as potential victims for sexual contact.”

During the arrests and operation, Muscogee County officials were aided by 12 agencies including United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Army Criminal Investigations Division, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office, Polk County Police Department and Gwinnett County Police.

Muscogee County Sheriff Greg Countryman made a plea to parents to closely monitor their children to ensure they are not communicating with these individuals. “These predators will travel from near and far to victimize your children,” Countryman added. “We take these crimes against children very seriously. It will be our Focus on finding these predators so they may be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Anyone with information about these cases or other cases of child exploitation is asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit at 404-270-8870 or report via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.