By admin 
GROVETOWN, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Three men were arrested after traveling to meet someone they thought was a child for sex, according to Grovetown police.
The sting was part of ‘Operation Mask Off’, aimed at tackling online child predators in and around the CSRA.
Grovetown police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted the sting Thursday through Sunday.
Undercover officers and investigators have contacted more than 1,200 individuals online and through apps, with 208 verified adults expressing a desire to meet for sexual activity, Grovetown Police Chief Jamie Kitchens said.
Despite being told multiple times that they were talking to a “child,” 43 individuals said they wanted to travel to meet for sex, offering compensation in return, Kitchens said.
Twelve of the 43 indicated that they in fact traveled to prearranged meeting locations provided by the investigators, Kitchens said.
Three people carried out their plans and traveled to the meeting locations, where they expected to meet a child but instead found members of the Grovetown Police Department, Kitchens said.
Police said they were arrested:
- Jose Polidecto Lemus, 41, of Virginia
- Do Nhut Minh, 25, of Pearland, Texas
- Clinton Chad Wilson, 42, of Louisville, Georgia.
Lemus, Wilson and Minh were each charged with child sexual exploitation and held at the Columbia County Detention Center with additional charges, according to Kitchen.
Lemus was determined to be in the country illegally and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer has also been placed on him.
Several electronic devices and three vehicles were seized during the operation.
In addition to the arrests, arrest warrants were issued for Willie Hines Jr. of Spartanburg, S.C., on charges of child sexual exploitation after he was positively identified during the chats, Kitchens said.
Hines is also wanted in Gwinett County on similar charges, Kitchens said.
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