Friday evening and early Saturday morning, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Marion County Attorney’s Office, Knoxville PD, Pella PD, Pleasantville PD, Melcher Dallas PD, Council Bluffs PD, Mid Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, US Attorney’s Office, and US Marshals orchestrated a multi-jurisdictional effort with the goal of intercepting child sexual predators.
As a result of these efforts, four individuals were arrested after traveling to Marion County with the intent to commit an illegal sex act upon or sexually exploit a minor under the age of sixteen. Individuals charged were Julian Huerta, 22, of Des Moines, Benjamin Michael Nyland, 29, of Prairie City, Kevin Eugene Jones, 61, of Des Moines, and Jeremy Daniel Fortisi, 28, of West Des Moines. All are charged with enticing a minor under the age of 16–sexual abuse.
Sheriff Jason Sandholdt tells KNIA/KRLS, “I am so proud to be involved with this team of dedicated officers in taking these child predators off the streets. We are all committed to using any resources available to us to keep our children safe. Parents need to make sure they are aware of who their kids are talking to and what social media applications they are using. We will prosecute these individuals to the fullest extent of the law, and I will recommend all of these cases be reviewed for federal prosecution.”
Knoxville Police Chief Aaron Fuller says, “I’d like to thank the men and women from the many law enforcement agencies who made this project successful. Without their hard work and dedication, none of what we achieved on this day would have been possible. I want to urge all parents to take an active role in their children’s online activities. Ask questions and learn about the devices and apps your children use. Doing so may prevent your child from becoming a victim of the criminals we seek out daily.”
Marion County Attorney Ed Bull says “last night demonstrated the very best of law enforcement in Marion County, our federal partners, and an officer from another agency, all working to keep our children safe. if you are a person who wants to do harm to a child, don’t presume this operation is over.”
Lt. Bret Haupert with the Pella Police Department says “The citizens of Marion County and the State of Iowa can have full confidence law enforcement will not stand idly by while our children are looked at as potential online targets, creating a vicious victim cycle that could potentially effect our children for the remainder of their lives.”