Online child sex sting operation leads to 12 arrests

FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas -- The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office says an online child sex sting operation has led to 12 arrests.

Sheriff's deputies, in cooperation with several other local law enforcement agencies, carried out the operation they dubbed "Spring Clean." The sting targeted potential child predators through various social media outlets.

Deputies say the three day operation led to 12 arrests in Fort Bend County. The suspects each face a felony count of online solicitation of a minor and attempted sexual assault of a minor.

PHOTOS: 12 arrested in online child sex sting

The suspects are Christopher Stutzman, 39, of Webster; Frank Villagomez, 28, of Rosenberg; Javier Gomez, 27, of Channelview; Mathew Kieru, 26, Houston; Alberto Alvarado, 38, of Los Lunas, N.M.; Andrew Holden, 41, of Richmond; Charlie Dang, 27, of Webster; Alejandro Villarreal, 40, of Houston, who also has charges of Evading Arrest, Speeding, and additional warrants; Jamie Gonzalez, 43, of Damon, who had the two bonds of $50,000 along with $1,000 for Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon; Jose Ojeda, 22, of Montgomery; Matthew Aguirre, 25, of Houston; and Charlie Pineda, 19, of Houston.

In each case, undercover officers chatted with the suspects, who agreed to meet up at a secret residential location for sex. Officers say they were contacted by hundreds, if not thousands, of men. Of those, a dozen agreed to meet in person. When the suspects arrived at the prearranged residential area, they were met and arrested by officers.

Deputies say each of the suspects had brought condoms with them. Some brought only one while others had entire boxes. Several of the suspects also brought alcohol with them, and one of the suspects had a gun.

All 12 suspects are being held in the Fort Bend County Jail on bond amounts up to $100,000.

The news comes just one day after investigators in Harris County announced the arrest of 12 other men in an undercover sting for soliciting underage teens. In that case, some of the men arrested showed up at a sting apartment with alcohol, condoms, drugs and even a gun.

Click here to read more on the Harris County arrests.

Police say these arrests are a reminder to parents to make sure they're monitoring their children's online activity. You many know some of the sites and apps they use, but check out the list put together by Common Sense Media of the 15 apps kids go to after Facebook.