Charleston, South Carolina — Multiple people are facing charges after being detained earlier this year in a multi-agency undercover sting operation aimed at prospective child sexual predators, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.
The sheriff’s office, in collaboration with the state’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, spearheaded the “Operation Online Guardian” investigation, in which law enforcement posed as youngsters under the age of 14 on social media to detect those attempting to contact with children.
The operation, which began in May, resulted in the arrest of eight individuals for various offenses against children. In addition to other counts, three of the guys are accused of meeting a juvenile for sex during the operation.
“This operation wasn’t just a success—it was a message: we will not tolerate those who prey on the vulnerable,” stated Charleston County Sheriff Carl Ritchie.
The culprits were identified and charged, as follows:
- Russell M. Troxell, 22 — second degree attempted criminal sexual conduct with minor, first degree attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, criminal solicitation of a minor
- Dominic G. Abdo, 21 — second degree attempted criminal sexual conduct with minor, first degree attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, criminal solicitation of a minor
- Omega J. Smalls, 20 — second degree attempted criminal sexual conduct with minor, criminal solicitation of a minor
- Jared M. Chandler, 29 — second degree attempted criminal sexual conduct with minor, first degree attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, criminal solicitation of a minor
- Jason Taylor, 41 — second degree attempted criminal sexual conduct with minor, first degree attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, criminal solicitation of a minor, resisting arrest
- Riley E. Blakely, 24 — second degree attempted criminal sexual conduct with minor, two counts of first degree attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, three counts of attempted dissemination of obscene material to a minor, four counts of criminal solicitation of a minor, attempted child luring, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime
- Joseph Scoppettuolo, 62 — two counts of first degree attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, five counts of criminal solicitation of a minor
- Matthew Wicker, 32 — criminal solicitation of a minor
Abdo was an active-duty military member at the time of his arrest, and he will be charged under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice, according to officials.
The Charleston Police Department, Mount Pleasant Police Department, Summerville Police Department, Goose Creek Police Department, Concord Police Department in North Carolina, Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office in Florida, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and the Navy Criminal Investigations Service, as well as K-9 units, all assisted in the arrests.
“The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, alongside our dedicated partner agencies, has taken a powerful stand to protect our children and families,” Ritchie stated.
Detectives say that removing these individuals from the streets has made children in the Lowcountry safer, but they advise parents to talk to their children about the hazards of social media and supervise their gadget usage.
“If you’re a parent and you have a child, you should number one, absolutely know the passcode to those devices,” said Jason Bowen, an investigator with the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office. “I have full access to those devices, and this is not a privacy problem. Children certainly require room and space to grow, but as you can see from this operation, the key is to ‘give them that room’ while simultaneously protecting them as parents.”
