10 Men Arrested in Virginia for Attempting to Solicit Sex From Minors

Virginia police Thursday arrested ten men allegedly attempting to solicit sex with children using the Internet to arrange meetings.

“Detectives from our Major Crimes and Organized Crime and Intelligence Bureaus arrested 10 men over the past two weeks through online sting operations that sought to identify and apprehend predators who use the internet to exploit children,” said Fairfax County police in a statement.  Police said  each of the arrested men used initiate explicit conversations and solicited sex from police officers posing as children, over the Internet.

Police detectives reportedly arrested each of the men when the suspects arrived at the agreed-upon locations.

“Even during this holiday season, there are those who would prey against our most vulnerable, our children,” said Major Ed O’Carroll, Bureau Chief, Major Crimes, Cyber and Forensics Bureau. “Fortunately for our community, our detectives remain steadfast to ensure the safety of our children.”

“These crimes have no place in our society and certainly not here in Fairfax County.”

Major O’Carroll urges parents to closely monitor their children’s online activities and use available security settings to prevent their children using unsafe sites or platforms that are not age-appropriate. He emphasized encouraging children to report anyone engaging them in inappropriate conversations or trying to coerce them into providing sexually explicit images of themselves.

There are many applications predators use to solicit victims, O’Carroll noted, adding parents should be aware of software applications their children are using and open dialogs with them about the dangers posed by the apps.

Kalpeshkumar Patel, 31, of Falls Church; Fairfax residents Joshua Estill, 25, Marquise Linton, 18, Vijay Maharajan, 32, and Huan Vo, 36; along with Murtaza Jaghoori, 35, of Leesburg, were charged with using a communication system to solicit a minor. Of them, all but Linton and Vo were additionally charged with attempted indecent liberties, according to police.

Police said they also arrested Maryland resident Tysante Coy, 25; Atef Sky, 51, of Manassa; Hemanth Ghattamaneni, 24, of Fairfax; and Amrit Shrestha, 26, of Chantilly; who were each charged with proposing sex by computer to a minor and attempted indecent liberties.