Twenty-two people were arrested Monday during a four-day sex sting operation centered in Richmond County, Georgia.
Of these 22 men, two were Aiken County residents. Thomas Michael Moxley Jr., 43, of Aiken, and Jordan Andrew Waters, 22, of Beech Island, were each charged with criminal attempt to commit child molestation.
According to a press release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, "Operation Mayday" was an effort that took months of planning to arrest those who communicate with children online and then travel to meet them for the purpose of having sex. The operation coordinated with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Richmond County Sheriff's Office.
The arrestees ranged in age from 19 to 52 and traveled from areas around Augusta and South Carolina with the intent to meet children for sex, the release said.
Occupations of those arrested included an actor, funeral home director, tire salesman, electrician, software programmer, correctional officer, pharmacy technician, student and deputy jailer.
"Online child predators visit chat rooms and websites on the Internet, find children, begin conversations with them, introduce sexual conduct and arrange a meeting with the children for the purposes of having sex," stated the press release.
The operation also targeted child prostitution and child sex trafficking, police said.
"The proactive online investigation was a coordinated effort among all the law enforcement agencies to combat this activity," stated the press release.
Six of the men arrested admitted to previous sexual contact with children, and one offender arrived with two firearms in his vehicle, according to reports. Multiple phones and other digital devices were seized.
The task force is made up of more than 200 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, other related criminal justice agencies and prosecutor's offices. It has made 1,300 arrests since beginning in 2002.
Will Whaley is a native of Fayette, Alabama, and has been with the newspaper since January 2015. He graduated from the University of North Alabama.