12 arrested in Northwest Florida child sex sting operation: FDLE
PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG) — The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has arrested 12 people in a multi-agency investigation, “Operation Kessel Run,” targeting child sex crimes.
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Each of the 12 behind bars is accused of seducing a minor to engage in sexual conduct, traveling to meet a minor for sexual activity, and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony, according to an FDLE news release.
“These suspects asked for lewd photos and communicated in graphic sexual terms,” FDLE Pensacola Special Agent in Charge Chris Williams said. “Luckily, our FDLE agents and analysts, along with our partners, found them before they found our children.
“And while this operation is finished, we are not. The work of these investigators continues because we know there are more predators out there just waiting for the opportunity to hurt a child.”
The 12 people were arrested from Feb. 23 to March 4, according to the release.
Those arrested in Operation Kessel Run, according to the FDLE, were:
Darryl Lamont Hart, 57, of Pensacola, Florida
Clayton Patrick Costello, 37, of Hoover, Alabama
Randy Edgar Powell, 52, of Pensacola, Florida
Telvan Latrell Williams, 28, of Mobile, Alabama
Kriss Lashawn Gilmore, 31, of Foley, Alabama
Alex Michael Durlock, 24, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Jordan Christopher Belton, 28, of Pensacola, Florida
Raphael Rochelle Brooks, 39, of Robertsdale, Alabama
William John Nordstrom, 64, of Pensacola, Florida
Eric Wintin Long, 33, of Montgomery, Alabama
Patrick Jay Dehnel, 33, of Slidell, Louisiana
Jamaine Antonia Johnson, 32, of Pensacola, Florida
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The release said each of the accused communicated with undercover investigators posing as juveniles.
They were each told they were communicating with a teenager, but they allegedly chose to engage in sexually explicit conversations.
They’re accused of asking for lewd photos and discussing how they planned to be sexually active with the minor.
After the conversations, they allegedly drove to meet with the minor, but investigators were waiting.
“These predators preyed on the innocence of children by knowingly engaging in lewd and lascivious online conduct, only to take it a step further and agreeing to meet in person and turn those conversations into action,” Homeland Security Investigation Tallahassee Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno said.
“Operation Kessel Run was a successful joint investigation, but there is still more work that must be done. HSI, alongside our law enforcement partners, will never rest in identifying, investigating, and prosecuting predators who seek to use children for their perverse behaviors and make them lifelong victims.”
FDLE, State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden, the Escambia and Santa Rosa county sheriff’s offices, Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach police departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Naval Criminal Investigative Services and U.S. Marshals Service participated in the operation.
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“I would like to thank all the agencies that collaborated on Operation Kessel Run to help ensure a safer, a more secure community,” Fort Walton Beach Police Chief Robert Bage said.
“We must all work together to protect our most value asset, our children.”
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