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SOCET_Mugshot_Convicted_BABB.jpg
SOCET_Mugshot_Convicted_BABB.jpg
Undercover Operation Arrests Cyber Predators Luring Local Children Online (Photo) - 05/24/23

Arrest Video Available: https://vimeo.com/829999676?share=copy

 

JCSO Key Case 23-1309

 

JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. – A three-month long undercover operation to identify adults victimizing children online has led to arrests of seven suspects throughout Oregon. The Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET) joint inter-agency task force launched the operation to identify and arrest dangerous cyber predators using the internet to meet with local juveniles to have sex. 

 

The SOCET led operation consisted of undercover law enforcement officers posing as minors on various online websites waiting for suspects to proposition them into having sex. Even after the acknowledgement of the child’s age, suspects sent sexually explicit messages, photos, and detailed requests of sexual activities they wanted to perform with the child.   

 

This complex undercover operation involved dozens of law enforcement officials including detectives, investigators, and support personnel from Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), United States Marshals Service, Oregon State Police, Sutherlin Police Department (SPD), Grants Pass Police Department (GPPD), Jackson County Parole and Probation, and Central Point Police Department; as well as prosecutors from the United States Attorney’s Office and the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office. Due to the complexity of this operation and the dangers involved in the arrests, SOCET also enlisted assistance from other local police task forces including the Illegal Marijuana Enforcement Team and Pacific Northwest Violent Offenders Task Force.

 

The latest arrest came May 19th, when SOCET investigators assisted Corvallis Police Department in arresting Manjunath Kareppagoudr, 35, of Corvallis. Kareppagoudr was charged with first-degree online sexual corruption of a child, three counts of second-degree online sexual corruption of a child, and three counts of luring a minor. He was booked and lodged in the Benton County Jail.

 

The first arrest came March 17th when Paul Robert Raney, 28, of Grants Pass, attempted to meet and have sex with a juvenile. Raney is charged with first-degree online sexual corruption of a child, two counts of second-degree online sexual corruption of a child, two counts of luring a minor, and two counts of attempted using a child in the display of sexually explicit content. He was booked and lodged in the Jackson County Jail. 

 

The next arrest on March 17th was Emanuel Cisneros, 22, of Klamath Falls, when he attempted to meet with a juvenile to have sex. Cisneros is charged with first-degree online sexual corruption of a child, two counts of second-degree online sexual corruption of a child, two counts of luring a minor, and two counts of attempted using a child in the display of sexually explicit content. Cisneros was booked and lodged at the Jackson County Jail. Investigators have reason to believe Cisneros may have victimized additional children throughout Oregon and the United States. If you have any information, call the JCSO Tip Line at (541) 774-8333.

 

The third arrest on March 17th was Reuben Phillip Harvey, 29, of Seneca, Ore. SOCET arrested Harvey as he attempted to meet with a juvenile to have sex.  Harvey is charged with two counts of first-degree online sexual corruption of a child, two counts of second-degree online sexual corruption of a child, two counts of luring a minor, and two counts of attempted using a child in the display of sexually explicit content. Harvey was booked and lodged in the Jackson County Jail. Investigators have reason to believe Harvey may have victimized additional children throughout Oregon and the United States. If you have any information, call the JCSO Tip Line at (541) 774-8333.

 

The following day on March 18th, Jose Anthony Babb, 30, of Medford, was arrested attempting to meet with a juvenile to have sex. Babb was charged with first-degree online sexual corruption of a child, second-degree online sexual corruption of a child, luring a minor, and attempted using a child in the display of sexually explicit content. He was booked and lodged in the Jackson County Jail. Babb pled guilty to Class B Felony first-degree online sexual corruption of a child on May 11th and was sentenced to 28 months in the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility with three years of post-prison supervision. Upon his release he will be required to register as a sex offender.

 

On April 11th Carlos Orellana, 34, of Portland, was arrested by SPD in Sutherlin and charged with first-degree online sexual corruption of a child, second-degree online sexual corruption of a child, and luring a minor. He was booked and lodged in the Douglas County Jail.

 

Another arrest came as a result of the operation as Leonard Allen Weedman, 64, of Medford, communicated with an undercover officer, violating the conditions of his parole for first-degree online sexual corruption of a child. Weedman was arrested last year during a similar SOCET operation. He was booked and lodged in the Jackson County Jail by a Parole and Probation officer on March 22nd. 

 

Investigators have reason to believe the suspects pictured may have other victims. If anyone has additional information on these suspects, please call your local law enforcement agency or the JCSO tip line at (541) 774-8333.

 

SOCET is a joint inter-agency task force that started in June of 2020 to combat child exploitation and human trafficking. The task force consists of investigators from JCSO, GPPD, and HSI; as well as prosecutors from our local, state and federal law enforcement partners in Jackson and Josephine County.

 

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