Detectives from the Fairfax County Police Department’s Major Crimes Bureau arrested seven men in recent weeks as part of a sting targeting online child predators, department officials announced Tuesday.
Officers apprehended suspects over several days in late December and early January who reportedly used various online platforms “to initiate explicit conversations and solicit sex from police officers posing as children,” FCPD officials stated.
The men, who range from 23 to 52 years old, allegedly arranged to meet with minors at select locations and were taken into custody upon arrival, the department said. They have been charged with a total of 49 felonies.
The seven suspects have been identified as:
- Edil Yovani Galvin-Dubon, 35, of Fairfax. Arrested on December 22 and charged with 20 counts of possession and reproduction of child pornography with the intent to distribute (second offense), four counts of using communications systems to propose to a child the performance of a sexual act, two counts of aggravated sexual battery stemming from a 2017 incident, and one count of attempted indecent liberties.
- Ozgur Ozcelik, 35, of Alexandria. Arrested on December 21 and charged with two counts using communications systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children and one count of attempted indecent liberties.
- Zim Mohammad, 23, of Springfield. Arrested on December 21 and charged with use of communications systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children and one count of enticing a minor to produce pornography.
- Gilberto Antonio Jarquin-Medina, 26, of Alexandria. Arrested on December 22 and charged with one count of computer solicitation of a child under 15 and one count of attempted indecent liberties.
- Moh Shakib Stanikzai, 30, of Alexandria. Arrested on December 22 and charged with one count of computer solicitation of a child under 15 and one count of attempted indecent liberties with a child under 15.
- Danial Siridavong, 33, of Woodbridge. Arrested on December 28 and charged with two counts of using communications systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children and one count of attempted indecent liberties.
- David M. Thompson, 52, of Harrisonburg. Arrested on January 6 and charged with two counts of child porn production, six counts of distributing child pornography, and two counts of use of communications systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children.
Detectives are asking anyone with information about these arrests or similar incidents to contact the FCPD’s Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800 (option 6). Anonymous tips can also be submitted through the Crime Solvers website or at 866-411-8477.
Following the string of arrests, detectives encouraged parents to become better versed in security settings that can limit exposure to such behaviors. Learning the dangers of the applications used by children and closely monitoring a child’s activity on those platforms are also imperative, police said.
“Children should be encouraged to report any person engaging in inappropriate conversations or trying to coerce them into providing sexually explicit images of themselves,” FCPD officials added.
Additional safety information provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children can be found here.
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