18 individuals were arrested Tuesday on charges related to soliciting minors for sex in the Fargo-Moorhead area.
The sting was part of a national initiative called "Operation Guardian Angel." Law enforcement officials are calling it "shocking, sickening and disgusting" as previous stings have only netted 1 or 2 arrests at one time.
Fargo Police Chief Dave Todd says the individuals responded to ads or activity on websites like Backpage and Craigslist, or on apps like Whisper and Grindr. He says they arrived at local hotels expecting sexual encounters with juveniles who claimed to be 15, 16 and 17 years old. Law officers from the Fargo and Moorhead Police Departments, and the Cass County Sheriff's Office posed as the juveniles. Police departments from Grand Forks, Minneapolis and St. Paul also participate in the effort, as well as the North Dakota BCI, Minnesota BCA, and Homeland Security Investigations. Todd says although the sting was a "success," no one is celebrating.
"The simple fact we made six arrests in Moorhead and 12 arrests in Fargo for people coming to have sex with children is sickening, appalling and disgusting. On top of that we had 158 contacts over the internet with people inquiring about coming to have sex with children. It's heartbreaking to me to see we have this kind of problem in our communities. It also tells me we have many silent victims of sexual abuse by sexual predators out there that we don't know about."
Todd says three detectives in the Fargo Police Department are tasked with these kinds of cases. There are two such detectives in Moorhead. He says the detectives are "overwhelmed" with the caseloads, as they reveal a large problem of human trafficking in the area. He says the Fargo Police Department plans to ask the legislature to appropriate more detectives for this type of work.
Todd says one of the arrested individuals is 30 year old Brandon Murch, a registered level 2 sex offender who was previously convicted for luring a minor by computer.