Operation Phantom Whisper was a coordinated law enforcement effort in Cherokee County, Georgia, that resulted in the arrest of 12 men on charges related to child exploitation and attempts at illegal sexual activity with minors.
During a three-day sting operation, investigators from multiple agencies -including from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security Investigations-Atlanta, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation - posed as underage girls online.
The operation focused on catching adults attempting to engage in sexual activity with children by arranging online meetups. When the suspects arrived at the designated locations, authorities apprehended them.
Of the 12 suspects, 11 traveled to Cherokee County believing they were meeting a 14-year-old girl for sexual purposes, and one individual was arrested separately at his home on child pornography charges.
The charges against these men ranged from trafficking for sexual servitude, using computers to entice children for illegal acts, felony criminal attempt, and possession or creation of explicit material involving minors.
Most of those arrested were denied bond, with a few exceptions where suspects were released after posting bond. The Cherokee County Sheriff emphasized the operation was part of an ongoing commitment to prioritize child safety and deter those who prey on vulnerable populations.
Source: https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/operation-phantom-whisper-nets-dozen-men-child-exploitation-sting
Commentary
Sting operations like the one above are commonly used by law enforcement to arrest people for child exploitation. A common attempted defense to such arrests is that they "entrap" arrestees.
Sting operations targeting child exploitation, like Operation Phantom Whisper, are not considered entrapment because law enforcement does not induce individuals to commit crimes they were not already predisposed or willing to commit.
Entrapment is a legal defense that occurs when authorities persuade or coerce someone, who would not have otherwise broken the law, into committing a criminal act.
In operations like Operation Phantom Whisper, investigators create the opportunity for illegal conduct by posing as minors online, but it is the suspects who initiate and pursue inappropriate conversations and attempts to arrange meetings for illegal behaviors.
Courts generally hold that simply providing an opportunity for a preexisting intent does not constitute entrapment. The key legal distinction lies in whether the intent to commit the crime originated from law enforcement or from the defendant; in these stings, evidence typically shows defendants were independently motivated to exploit minors.
The key is for child safe environments to prevent the online sexual exploitation of minors. One way to do so is to know some of the signs of online grooming.
Below are some of those signs:
- Has multiple online personas and accounts
- Utilizes multiple email addresses
- Has and uses multiple cell phones
- Has downloaded/utilizes applications that hide, encrypt or keep online messages private
- Has reluctance or refuses to disclose online personal relationships
- Uses secretive and/or private online messaging with unknown individuals
- Messages after-hours with unknown individuals
- A reluctance or refusal to discuss online relationships
- Meets with online acquaintances in private or otherwise
- Turns off or changes screens when adults or others are nearby
- Refuses to speak online when others are nearby
- Visits dark web child pornography sites and chatrooms
- Visits/links or has accounts to pornography and/or adult-only platforms/chatrooms
- Unapproved or private charges on credit cards
- Receives money online from unknown sources
- Stores nude images
- Takes nude images of self or other minors
- Receives gifts/money from unknown persons
- Receives pharmaceuticals or sexual clothing/gifts from unknown people
- Receives spam from pornography/adult-only websites or pharmaceutical companies
- Receives threatening email or texts from unknown persons
- Receives threatening calls or hangups from unknown persons
- Becomes anxious after reading online messages
- Becomes angry, sad or depressed after spending time alone online
- Posts images of a sexual nature or comments about explicit sexual behavior
- Posts images wearing revealing clothing or engages in sexual banter
- For other signs of grooming, see RiskTrends™ checklist "Inappropriate Behavior/Interactions With Children"
