On Friday, Aug. 25, the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office Rescuing, Humanity, Intervention, Neighborhood, Operations (RHINO) Team conducted an operation with the assistance of Marshall Police Department. The RHINO Team is committed to the safety of children online and conducts operations to locate, identify, and arrest subjects that use social media platforms to locate under-age children for the purposes of having a sexual encounter.
Deputies posing as a 14-year-old girl chatted with a 60-year-old man from Concord, Michigan. After being told that the person he was speaking to was 14 years old, the suspect, who is a volunteer fire-fighter in a local community, sent nude photographs of himself standing next to the fire truck. The suspect came to Marshall, Mich. to meet the 14-year-old girl for the purposes of having sex. When he arrived and knocked on the door, he was greeted by Sheriff’s Office deputies from the special response team. Despite trying to escape when he realized what was going on, he was quickly arrested and taken to the Calhoun County Jail.
Sheriff Steve Hinkley wishes to remind the public of two things:
First, this person does not represent the volunteers in our community that protect us in the areas of volunteer fire fighting, law-enforcement, and rescue services. Those volunteers are true heroes in our community who deserve to continue to have our support and trust. This person is an exception to the rule and used his position to build trust with the supposed 14-year-old girl.
Second, children need our protection and guidance to help them be successful citizens, especially online. The potential for children being exploited or just making bad decisions, which can lead to human trafficking, is a real threat to children online. Parents should consider how to be aware of what their child is doing online. Sheriff Steve Hinkley says, “I don’t think any parent would allow their child to walk into a dark abandon building at night to explore. In many cases, when a child clicks on a link or enters an app or a chat room, that is exactly what they’re doing.” While respecting a child’s privacy is important, the internet can be a dangerous place. Children need to be monitored on social media and given guidance and support so they don’t walk into a dangerous situation.
