A recent investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) into child sexual predators led to the arrest of 12 people. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office and The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office both assisted the GBI in the investigation.
The online undercover sting called “Operation Heartbreak” was a three-day effort that took months of planning with a collaboration of multiple agencies. The goal was to find child predators who were traveling to meet children for sex. Undercover agents posing to be children were engaging with the suspects on the internet through social media or chat rooms.
Online child predators visit chat rooms and websites on the internet, find children, begin conversations with them, introduce sexual content and arrange a meeting with the children for the purpose of having sex.
Operation Heartbreak began on Feb. 10 and took place over several days. During that operation, 12 men were arrested. Those arrested ranged in ages from 23 to 65 and all of them were traveling to meet children. The GBI released a press release saying, “Every individual arrested during the operation believed they were going to a location to meet with a child and engage in prearranged sex acts. Thirteen mobile devices were seized as evidence during the operation.” They added that several of the suspects were talking with multiple online investigators, believing them all to be children.
As members of the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the Hall County and Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Offices worked with the GBI, the Georgia State Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Marshal Service, and United States Secret Services among others.
Everyone arrested was from Central or South Georgia and charged with Computer or Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007. There may be additional charges and arrests.
The list of those arrested is as follows:
1. Michael Eugene Hobbs, 65
2. Jontravious Taylor, 23
3. Stephen Butler, 45
4. Zacchaeus Emmanuel Hawkins, 38
5. Maurice Edward Kluge, 55
6. Jimmy Lee Lairsey, 46
7. Melquis Eduardo Gomez Sandoval, 24
8. Denwood Lawton Jr, 25
9. Jorge Jimenez Ramirez, 26
10. Clines Thomas Rowell, 23
11. Garry Miles Wiggins, 56
12. Kenneth Edward Wilson, 41
All of these men were booked into the Colquitt County Jail where the operation was centered.
Since 2014, the Georgia ICAC Task Force has arrested over 162 people in similar operations.
