California police said on Wednesday that a five-day operation conducted late last month resulted in the arrests of 18 suspected child sex predators.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that Operation Catch-A-Predator, which was conducted from August 23 to 27, involved detectives posing as 12- and 13-year-old boys and girls during online correspondence with the suspects. The suspects, who allegedly believed they were meeting a child, were arrested upon arriving at an agreed-upon location.
Police said the men used sexually explicit language while talking to the undercover detectives, and sent them graphic photos.
According to KOVR, the suspects arrested last month were Ronald Lovell, 56; Sahan Wanithunga, 24; Nader Bassam Ayesh, 27; Michael Andrews, 32; Jose Alvarado, 21; Eric Stinson, 53; Jose Antonio Cabulajtzip, 23; Andrew Coleman, 22; Jeffrey Feldman, 57; Dandrei Jackson, 19; Eric Olmos, 29; Robert Martinez, 34; Isaiah Chacon, 22; Jamie Gipson, 20; Ian Kelley, 51; Edward Ashburn, 34; Ranjit Singh, 27; and Vicente Ramirez-Solano, 29.
Reports indicated that Lovell previously worked for the Tracy Unified School District and coached girls sophomore basketball at Kimball High School from 2010 to 2015. Afterward, Lovell was a varsity girls basketball coach at West High School before resigning from the district in September 2019.
Lovell was charged with several felonies, including communicating with a minor with the intent to commit a sex offense.
Police said the other 17 suspects are facing various charges connected to meeting a child for sexual purposes. Their investigation is ongoing and additional arrests may be made.
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[Featured image: Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office]
