By Warren Kulo

Five Alabama men were among 12 suspects taken into custody as the result of an 11-agency effort dubbed “Operation Kessel Run” designed to flush out would-be child sexual predators.

Special Agent Chris Williams of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) announced the arrests during a Monday press conference.

“In the movie ‘Star Wars,’ (the) Kessel Run is a dangerous route used by smugglers used to avoid detection,” Williams said. “It’s a fitting name for this investigation, because dangerous men intent on hurting our chilren were using the internet to avoid detection, but they failed.”

During the multi-day operation, suspects communicated with undercover investigators posing as juveniles. Each suspect was told they were communicating with a teenager, but chose to engage in sexually explicit conversations anyway, asking for lewd photos and discussing how they planned to be sexually active with the “child.”

Following the conversations, the suspects drove to meet the investigators, thinking they were meeting 13 and 14-year old children to engage in sexual activity, according to the FDLE.

Ultimately, each of the men drove to meet who they believed to be minors to engage in sex, according to officials. Each was instead taken into custody by agents. The arrests all occurred between Feb. 23 and March 4.

“These suspects asked for lewd photos and communicated in graphic sexual terms,” Williams said. “Luckily our FDLE agents and analysts, along with our partners, found them before they found our children. And while this operation is finished, we are not. The work of these investigators continues because we know there are more predators out there just waiting for the opportunity to hurt a child.”

The five Alabama men arrested are:

  • Clayton Costello, 37, of Hoover
  • Telvan Williams, 28, of Mobile
  • Kriss Gilmore, 31, of Foley
  • Raphael Brooks 39, of Robertsdale
  • Eric Long, 33, of Montgomery

“Twelve suspects from all walks of life were arrested after using the internet as both a route to access our children and to cover their actions,” Williams said, adding that some of the suspects were found in possession of handguns.

The suspects ranged in age from 24 to 64. In addition to the five suspects from Alabama, the remaining seven charged are:

  • Darryl Hart 57, Pensacola, Fla.
  • Randy Powell, 52, Pensacola
  • Alex Durlock, 24, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
  • Jordan Belton, 28, Pensacola
  • William Nordstrom, 64, Pensacola
  • Patrick Dehnel, 33, Slidell, La.
  • Jamaine Johnson, 32, Pensacola

All 12 have been charged with seducing or soliciting a minor for sexual activity, traveling to meet a minor for sexual activity, and use of a two-way device to facilitate a felony.

Nordstrom, Dehnel and Johnson have also been charged with transmitting harmful material to a minor, while Long is also charged with fleeing law enforcement.

Other agencies participating in Operation Kessel Run included the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Naval Criminal Investigative Services, U.S. Marshals, Pensacola Police Department, Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office, Office of the (Fla.) State Attorney, and the Fort Walton Beach Police Department.

“The ‘Kessel Run joint operation is an example of law enforcement partnerships, enabling the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) to leverage combined expertise and effort, to target online sexual predators who attempt to prey on our communities,” said NCIS Supervisory Special Agent Myles Roy.

If convicted, all 12 suspects face up to 25 years in prison, with the four men with additional charges facing a maximum sentence of 30 years, according to the Pensacola News Journal.

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