Eight men arrested in Ravalli County child sex trafficking sting operation
Eight men were arrested in a Ravalli County undercover sting after messaging who they believed were 15- and 16-year-old children. All suspects travelled to meet the decoys in person.
Eight men charged after undercover child sex trafficking sting in Ravalli County
Eight men were arrested on child prostitution and child sexual abuse charges in Ravalli County, Montana, after they believed they were communicating with minors but were in fact messaging law enforcement officers, kpax.com reports.
Sheriff Steve Holton said the county has zero tolerance for sex trafficking. "We know this is happening and we wanted to target those people that were gonna prey on our kids," Holton told MTN.
Before the operation, Ravalli County deputies trained with the Valour Coalition, an organisation that describes itself as a "force multiplier" expanding law enforcement capabilities to combat sex trafficking. The training focused on legal compliance during undercover work. "The training is about different ways to interact and avoid legal issues like entrapment and things like that. We don't want to do anything that would jeopardize a criminal case," Holton said.
Working alongside sheriff's offices from Cascade and Missoula County, investigators ran the operation out of Florence between 29 and 31 October. Every suspect arrested had travelled to Ravalli County intending to meet someone they believed to be 15 or 16 years old.
"They thought they were talking to children, but it was all law enforcement," Holton said.
Six men were charged with prostitution with a child. Russell David Ashman, 50, of Hamilton, and Isaac Shay Floyd, 19, of Missoula, faced charges of sexual abuse of children. Ashman and Floyd each posted a $200,000 bond and were released on 4 November. One suspect, Cramm, posted a $250,000 bond and was also released on 4 November.
Holton stressed that anyone intending to commit such offences in the Bitterroot Valley would be held accountable.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)