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Five students arrested in sexual predator sting

Editor-in-chief

Published: Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Updated: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 01:10

z

Zachary Crane

Jacob Duvall

Jacob Duvall

Scott Owens

Scott Owens

Sean Strickler

Sean Strickler

Johnny Yang

Johnny Yang

Five FGCU students, including an Eagle News senior staff member, have been arrested as part of a child sexual predator sting, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

Forty men, ranging in age from 18 to 50, were arrested as a result of the sting, which was named Operation Spiderweb and ran from Oct. 22-28.

The suspects made plans via social networking sites to meet and commit sex acts with whom they believed were boys and girls ranging in age from 11 to 15. Forty deputies, detectives and agents identified and arrested the accused adults at a home in Lee County where the men allegedly traveled to commit the sex acts.

The five FGCU students arrested included Jacob Duvall, 19, Johnny Yang, 22, Scott Owens, 19, Sean Strickler, 28 and Zachary Crane, 20.

At the time of his arrest, Yang was the assistant media editor at Eagle News. 

According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Duvall’s last know address was in FGCU campus housing.

The sting, which took five months of preparation, was a collaborative effort involving the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Sex Crimes Unit, FBI Innocent Images Task Force, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, State Attorney’s Office of 20th Judicial Circuit and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“Those trying to prey on our children are served notice today that we will not tolerate this illegal activity,” said Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott in a press release.  “We cannot be idle in this task.  Parents, I urge you to recognize the threat exists and be sure you have lines of communication open with your children and monitor their social networking activity.”

According to NBC-2, FGCU said the University can’t comment on students’ discipline due to privacy laws, but in general terms, FGCU has the ability to suspend and remove students from the campus pending the outcome of what happens in court.

All of the men are facing obscene communication charges.  

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1 comments

protect the kids correctly
Wed Nov 14 2012 12:13
I have been following the stings in Florida for quite some time now and I can tell you that they are illegal stings. First off the media and law enforcement fail to tell you that the ads that they use are posted in the Casual Encounters section of Craigslist. In that section you have to agree to be 18 years of age before surfing or posting and you have to agree that you are aware that sexually explict language and images are present. Craigslist also has a policy of not allowing bait and switch ads. These men are answering ADULT ads on a sexually charged ADULT website and they are actively looking for ADULTS. Law enforcement go onto craigslist and break policies of craigslist in order to catch men that are following the rules. That is unconstitutional and entrapment. They are even arresting people that did not travel to meet a minor and go arrest them at their home and at their work.

Here is a question that no one can logically answer. Why would a "Child Predator" search on an ADULT website to catch kids? THEY DON'T.... they hang out on child friendly venues where there is alot more targets. they are not going to hang out in an adult forum for the off chance of a kid to stop by.

The police start off the conversation as an adult ad and switch it to something else, and psychologically the person involved feels cheated but take the carrot dangled in front of them

Fla. Stat. ch. 777.201

Entrapment-

(1) A law enforcement officer, a person engaged in cooperation with a law enforcement officer, or a person acting as an agent of a law enforcement officer perpetrates an entrapment if, for the purpose of obtaining evidence of the commission of a crime, he or she induces or encourages and, as a direct result, causes another person to engage in conduct constituting such crime by employing methods of persuasion or inducement which create a substantial risk that such crime will be committed by a person other than one who is ready to commit it.

The Florida Internet Crimes Against Children's Task Force (as well as other agencies in Florida) is alleging that they investigate and prosecute only people that are using the internet to prey on children. However, the truth is they are manufacturing crime and enticing innocent people by going to places on the internet where people are already talking about sex or may even already be actively looking for sex, but not with children. Examples of such activities that constitute the entrapment are:

Placing ads on Craigslist in the ADULT personals section advertising sex.
Setting up fake profiles on dating websites such as OKCupid which is a dating site for ADULTS.

Setting up fake profiles in ADULT chat rooms that are rampant with pornography and sexual conversations.
Violating the terms of use agreements for these websites which violates the Constitutional Rights of the suspects because of the malicious intent of "law enforcement" while using the service.





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