BLOUNT COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) - The Blount County Sheriff’s Office has made 12 total arrests in the last few months in three separate child exploitation sting operations.
Sheriff Mark Moon says it’s important to him to protect children, innocents and those who can’t protect themselves.
Sheriff Moon says Chris Hansen from ‘To Catch a Predator’ reached out wanting to do sting operations in Alabama. Moon says he got in touch with the ‘GHOST’ team at the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan, who sent three to four people down to train his deputies on how to execute a child exploitation sting.
The sheriff’s office says after the second sting, the assistant DA for Blount County walked them through what parameters needed to be met to have a “solid case." Moon says with this guidance, his deputies have zeroed in and it has motivated his department.
“A lot of the work that we do is reactive. Bad something has already happened and we have to go take a report and then initiate an investigation before we can actually seek out justice for a victim. In this kind of scenario, we’re able to actually be proactive and go after bad guys before a heinous crime is committed," Moon said. "Because make no mistake, these people that show up to our stings, these people that interact with what they believe are underage boys and girls on these ads that we put out, they truly believe that they’re coming to have a relation or relationship with someone who’s underage.”
Moon says parents need to be vigilant in protecting their children by checking their electronics and paying close attention to any behavior changes.