Fairfax police arrest 10 in child predator sting operation, cite increasing trend

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis announced the arrests of 10 men stemming from a three-day sting operation of child predators Thursday morning.

Davis said the arrest come as adults attempting to contact children online have risen this year.

Investigators, posing as 13 and 14-year-old boys and girls, initiated sexually explicit conversations with men on various online platforms. All 10 men went to meet up with who they believed to be a child to perform sexual acts. They were then taken into custody.

The men range in age from 22 to 44 years old. Most of them are from Northern Virginia. Davis said many of the men have previous criminal histories. One of the men was armed with a firearm. Davis said the men have various jobs such as a yoga instructor, a journalist and construction workers.

“They’re professionals in a vast variety of professions. A lot of them have wives, children, families, and now their lives as they knew them are over. But the life of a child that they either plan to plan to prey upon or would later prey upon are saved,” he said.

During the announcement, the department also recognized K9 officer Delaware, an electronic service dog, trained to detect hidden devices. Davis said Delaware, a two-year-old English lab, will be used in operations related to child exploitation.

“Electronic devices are really important to these predators because they store their sexual child abuse material on their cell phones, on their laptops, on their iPads and when they store this illegal illicit activities, their crimes, they hide these devices often. They hide them in their homes. They hide them in their cars. They they hide them in their yards. They put them in all sorts of places in an effort to keep them away from law enforcement,” he said.

Davis wouldn’t say on what application or forum the assailants engaged with investigators, but he said that the platform permits users to see how far away their communication partner is. Davis said parents should be aware of a number of sites and applications where predators can engage with children, including Instagram, Snapchat, Roblox, Discord and TikTok.

The Fairfax County Police Department arrested the following men:

Michael Flannery, 33, of Winchester, was charged with attempted indecent liberties and computer-solicitation of a child under 15-Years-Old.
Casto Ian Unson III, 35, of Vienna, was charged with attempted indecent liberties and computer-solicitation of a child under 15-Years-Old.
Ravi Vongavolu, 24, of Herndon, was charged with attempted indecent liberties and computer-solicitation of a child under 15-Years-Old.
Rabiul Islam, 44, of Arlington, was charged with attempted indecent liberties and computer-solicitation of a child Under 15-Years-Old and attempted production of child sexual abuse material.
Osman Aslan, 30, of Vienna, was charged with Attempted Indecent Liberties and Computer-Solicitation of a Child Under 15-Years-Old.
Estuardo Orozco Orozco, 27, of Falls Church, and charged with computer-solicitation of a child Under 15-Years-Old.
Mohamed Elnefili, 38, of Qatar, was charged with attempted indecent liberties and computer-solicitation of a child under 15-Years-Old. He was currently staying in Springfield at the time of his arrest.
Roy Hayes, 22 of Herndon, and charged with attempted indecent liberties and computer-solicitation of a child Under 15-Years-Old.
Imran Ahmad, 42, of Ashburn, was charged with attempted indecent liberties and computer-solicitation of a child under 15-Years-Old.
Bassem Karam, 36, of Herndon, was charged with attempted indecent liberties and computer-solicitation of a child under 15-Years-Old.