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In July and October 2019, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office conducted two child predator stings where investigators posed as children online. As part of those stings, deputies arrested 15 men. During those missions, investigators were chatting with dozens of people and several of those conversations continued over the following months.
During the July sting, a man who was chatting online with the undercover deputy agreed to meet a child for sex and drove from Washington state to Oregon that day. Detectives with the Violent Crimes Unit worked to identify him as 38-year-old Michael Allan Anderson from Castle Rock, Washington. A Washington County grand jury indicted Mr. Anderson on November 26 for luring a minor, online sexual corruption of a child in the first degree and attempted rape in the third degree. Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Mr. Anderson on December 4.
During the October sting, another man was chatting with an undercover police officer and agreed to meet a child for sex. Detectives continued to chat with him over the next month and identified him as 31-year-old Justin DePriest from Vancouver, Washington. On December 3, Mr. DePriest drove from Washington to Oregon believing he was going to meet the child and was instead contacted by detectives and arrested. He was charged with luring a minor and online sexual corruption of a child in the first degree.
The Sheriff’s Office does regular child predator stings, both as full-scale undercover operations and day-to-day online chatting. Detectives recognize child predators use social media applications and video gaming chat platforms to find underage victims and are committed to identifying child predators before they locate real-world victims.
The original media releases are below.
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Nine Men Arrested in Undercover Child Predator Sting
October 18, 2019
On Thursday, October 17, 2019, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office conducted a child predator sting where investigators posed on a variety of social media platforms and dating web sites as 15-year-old boys and girls. The men contacted undercover deputies online and were arrested after arriving at a location where they believed they would be meeting a child in person for sex.
During this sting, multiple people immediately ended their conversations once they learned the person they were talking with was identifying as a child.
The Sheriff’s Office regularly conducts undercover operations targeting child predators. Parents are encouraged to help their children be safe online and to be aware of the websites and mobile applications their kids are using. The Sheriff’s Office also provides online safety education for parents and community organizations.
All of the following men were arrested for the felony crimes of luring a minor and online sexual corruption of a child in the first degree:
Six Men Arrested in Undercover Child Predator Sting
July 12, 2019
On July 11, 2019, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office conducted a child predator sting where investigators posed on a variety of social media platforms and dating web sites as 15-year-old boys and girls. The men contacted undercover deputies online and were arrested after arriving at a location where they believed they would be meeting a child in person for sex.
During this sting, multiple people immediately ended their conversations once they learned the person they were talking with was identifying as a child.
The Sheriff’s Office regularly conducts undercover operations targeting child predators. Parents are encouraged to help their children be safe online and to be aware of the sites and applications their kids are using. The Sheriff’s Office also provides online safety education for parents and community organizations.
All of the following men were arrested for the felony crimes of luring a minor and online sexual corruption of a child in the first degree: