FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Franklin Police Department, Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, Martinsville Police Department, and the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office conducted a joint child solicitation sting entitled Operation Guardian this week and announced eight arrests on Friday.
Operation Guardian took place in Franklin where detectives posed online as a child under the age of 14. During chat room conversations, several adult men solicited sex and arranged to meet with a detective they believed to be that underage child. When the suspects appeared at the agreed-upon location to meet with the undercover detectives, they were handcuffed and taken to Johnson County Jail. It was the second Johnson County child solicitation operation in the last four months. A December 2020 raid netted 10 arrests.
Law enforcement says it cannot eliminate this problem alone and pleads with parents to keep an eye on what sites their children visit and who they talk to in chats and social media.
Christopher L. McClain, 35, of Greenwood, Patrick McGough, 46, of Zionsville, Deekshith Reddy Deva, 27, of Indianapolis, Kevin Hatchett, 60, of Nashville, Indiana, and Jesus Martinez, 28, of Pendleton, were all booked for child solicitation. John D. Fenes, 34, of Franklin, was arrested for child solicitation and obscenity/dissemination of pornographic material to a minor. Danny J. Harris, 48, of Bloomington, was booked for child solicitation, obscenity/dissemination of pornographic material to a minor, and possession of methamphetamine. Finally, Richard Gamman, 24, of Indianapolis, was busted for resisting law enforcement, dealing meth, and driving while suspended with a prior conviction.
