Mom charged with trafficking her six-year-old daughter among 22 arrested in Michigan child sex sting operation
A Michigan woman accused of trafficking her six-year-old daughter is amongst the 22 individuals who have been arrested following a child sex sting operation conducted by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.
In a press release, Genesee County Sheriff Robert J. Pickell announced that the Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team (GHOST), a newly formed task force within his office, had arrested and charged 22 people for crimes related to soliciting sex with underage children.
To lure and catch the predators, the team put out bait on the dark web and then set up hotel rooms to catch the suspects. One of those caught, 59-year-old Carl E. Spradlin Jr., reportedly came into the hotel room specifically to have sex with a 14-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl.
According to MLive, he was arraigned on single counts each of child sexually abusive activity, accosting, enticing or soliciting a child for immoral purpose, and use of internet or computer system to communicate with another to commit a crime — each punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Also caught was 37-year-old Jennifer Beckman, who was accused of trafficking her six-year-old daughter to one of the arrested, 33-year-old Michael Foster. Both have been arraigned on charges including first-degree criminal sexual conduct, child sexually abusive activity and human trafficking.
Pickell said Beckman had provided her daughter to Foster so he could have sex with the child, and that upon further investigation, they found that the 33-year-old was also having sex with his two-year-old daughter.
The police said several of the suspects were well-respected in their communities. One was a financial advisor, another a senior vice president in the legal department of Comerica Bank, and a third a manager at a credit union.
Of the 22 suspects, some lived in Genesee County and others traveled from Saginaw, Shiawassee, Oakland, Wayne, Lapeer, and Tuscola Counties. Pickell announced that, in total, the arrests of the individuals had resulted in 66 felony charges, totaling 994 combined years of potential prison time.
"The investigation is a sobering reminder that we must be more vigilant than ever protecting our children, even when they are not in public," he said. "Predators are increasingly becoming more adept at interacting with children through various social media platforms."
"Law enforcement, parents, and our community as a whole must work together increasing awareness of the dangers these predators present, and continue to develop tools to identify them and remove the threat they pose to our loved ones."