By MATT THACKER
A man from Georgetown and two from Jeffersonville were allegedly caught by Kentucky State Police and Louisville Metro Police Department detectives as part of an Internet sting to catch sexual predators.
Zachary A. Winfrey, 23, of Georgetown along with Matthew S. Thacker, 30, and Matthew Snyder, 31, both of Jeffersonville, were three of the 14 men arrested for allegedly attempting to meet minors for sex.
Four LMPD and KSP detectives posed as teenage girls on various social networking Web sites over the last several months as part of Operation Bulldog II, the departments announced at a press conference on Wednesday. All of the men were arrested within the last two weeks.
Maj. Joe Richardson, commander of LMPD’s Major Crimes Unit, cited a study he read that sexual predators have, on average, already victimized more than 20 minors before being caught.
“We have prevented I don’t know how many children from being victimized,” Richardson said. “I want to say to all the Internet predators watching and listening to think twice about who you are chatting with online. It may be the police.”
The detectives set up fake profiles on social networking Web sites pretending to be girls, ages 13 to 15.
Once the men requested to meet up for sex, the undercover detectives set up meetings with the suspects at various locations in Louisville. When the men show up at the location, they are arrested.
The detectives said some of the men showed up with condoms and some with drugs. Some sent nude photographs of themselves.
“The 14 arrests from this operation confirms that there is still work to do,” said KSP Det. Will Lindon, one of the officers who posed as a minor.
The three men from Southern Indiana all face felony charges in Jefferson County that include attempted use of a minor under 16 for a sexual performance, unlawful use of electronic means and unlawful transaction with a minor under 16. Thacker was also charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia because he showed up with marijuana, according to detectives.
Jail records show Thacker and Snyder have both bonded out from jail, while Winfrey remains incarcerated at the Metropolitan Department of Corrections.
Snyder and Winfrey have preliminary hearings set for next week. Thacker is scheduled to appear in court in October.
In April, LMPD and KSP arrested eight people as part of its first Operation Bulldog. The detectives said the predators seem to have become more cautious, asking more questions to try to validate the person they are talking to is not a police officer.
None of the 14 men arrested this month had been convicted of sex crimes, according to police, but some had notable occupations.
Jeffery Cox, 38, of Mount Washington, Ky., recently attended orientation to become a Jefferson County school bus driver, police said. Isaac Michael Liljequist, 25, of Edgewood, Ky., is a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
The suspects range in age from 20 to 45 and are from throughout Kentucky.
Detectives say some predators will quickly ask them for sex, while others will chat with them for months before wanting to meet.
“Some guys are slow groomers. They will feel you out and escalate the conversation. Some take a couple of months. Some (are) from the last operation,” said Det. Mike Arterburn, of the LMPD’s Crimes Against Children Unit.
Arterburn said no matter how long it takes, they will not give up the search.
