Multiple people, including six Clark County residents, were arrested after allegedly trying to contact and meet minors for sex during a nearly weeklong law enforcement sting.
Agencies of the Washington State Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force launched the operation Feb. 14 by posing as minors online.
Officers said they received responses within minutes from suspects interested in meeting up with minors for sex or sex trafficking.
The ages of the fictitious children ranged from 6 to 14, according to a news release from the Vancouver Police Department.
The department’s Digital Evidence Cybercrime Unit and the Washington State Patrol’s Missing and Exploited Children Task Force led the operation.
Officers made their first arrest Feb. 15 after one of the suspects expressed interest in having sex with a child and drove to a meeting spot, the news release states.
Police say 11 people were arrested and booked in the Clark County Jail:
• Daniel Keen Jr. of Vancouver was arrested on suspicion of attempted second-degree rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
• Normund A. Stone of Portland was arrested on suspicion of attempted second-degree rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
• Daniel T. Flores of Vancouver was arrested on suspicion of attempted first- and second-degree rape of a child.
• Tristain Hayes of Camas was arrested on suspicion of attempted second-degree rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
• Russell J. Burghart of Warren, Ore., was arrested on suspicion of attempted second-degree rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
• Ernest G. Wooge of Vancouver was arrested on suspicion of attempted second-degree rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
• David W. Collins of Vancouver was arrested on suspicion of attempted second-degree rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
• Jace T. Hambrick of Portland was arrested on suspicion of attempted second-degree rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
• Douglas S. Peetz of Salem, Ore., was arrested on suspicion of attempted first- and second-degree rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
• Robert E. Collins of Marysville was arrested on suspicion of attempted second-degree rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
• Richard J. Riggins of Camas was arrested on suspicion of two counts of attempted first-degree rape of a child, one count of attempted second-degree rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
“Operations of this type are vitally important to the safety and security or our children and communities. The dedication of the law enforcement agencies involved cannot be understated or undervalued,” the news release said.
Other agencies that assisted in the operation include the Beaverton (Ore.) Police Department; Clackamas County (Ore.) Sheriff’s Office; Clark County Sheriff’s Office; FBI in Vancouver, Seattle and Portland; Seattle Police Department; Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office; King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office; Washington State Attorney General’s Office.
