FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — The Fairfax County Major Crimes Bureau’s Child Exploitation Unit recently set up an online sting, the purpose of which was to be able to identify, catch and arrest predators who are trying to use the internet to exploit children. The sting led to the arrest of six men in the county.
According to Fairfax County police, the sting operation was conducted over several days in each of these cases, officers say offenders used online platforms, to start explicit conversations trying to get sex from children. What they didn't realize is they were talking to police officers posing as children.
When each of the six suspects arrived at locations they had previously set up, detectives took them into custody. The men, who ranged in age from 26 to 43, were charged with a combined 21 felonies.
The suspects taken into custody include:
- Raul Ramirez-Roja, 27, of Winchester - Charged with two counts of proposing a sex act and one count of indecent liberties with child under age 15.
- Julio Lozano Lazo, 29, of Maryland - Charged with two counts of proposing a sex act, one count of indecent liberties with a child under age 15, and one count of procuring minors for obscene material by communication system.
- Jvonni Farmer, 28, of Woodbridge - Charged with proposing a sex act and one count of indecent liberties with child under age 15.
- Elmer Juarez Calderon, 26, of Arlington - Charged with one count of proposing a sex act and one count of indecent liberties with child under age 15.
- Marcus Hal Sturdivant, 35, of Harrisonburg - Charged with four counts of proposing a sex act. – arrested by City of Harrisonburg PD (booking photo not available)
- William Godoy Estrada, 43, of Arlington - Charged with four counts of proposing a sex act, attempted production of child pornography, and attempted indecent liberties.
Police are urging parents to closely monitor their child's online usage. Police are telling parents to use any available security settings to prevent the use of age-inappropriate sites or social media apps.
All children of any age should be encouraged to report any person attempting to or engaging in inappropriate conversations or trying to coerce them into giving sexually explicit photos or videos of themselves, police said in a release.
Police say that there are tons of different applications predators use to get young victims. Parents are encouraged to know what applications their children or child uses and have an open dialog about the dangers they may pose.
