A multi-agency undercover law enforcement operation targeting internet predators pursuing children resulted in the arrests of nine men on Maui.
Law enforcement conducted Operation Keiki Shield 17 on the island from Friday through Sunday. The nine men, whose ages ranged from 19 through 74, were charged for allegedly soliciting minors on the internet for sex.
Undercover officers posing as children online arrested the offenders after they believed they were communicating with children and allegedly made arrangements to meet up with them to engage in sexual acts. The offenders instead met with undercover officers who arrested them.
The operation was conducted as part of the Hawaii Department of Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce which includes local, state and federal law enforcement.
Officers and agents of the Maui Police Department, Hawaii Department of the Attorney General, ICAC Taskforce, Honolulu Police Department, Kauai Police Department, Hawaii County Police Department, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Secret Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation participated in the undercover operation.
The nine individuals arrested and charged in Operation Keiki Shield 17 on Maui are:
>> Lawrence Turno, 29, of Lahaina charged with commercial sexual exploitation of a minor.
>> David Wilbur, 45, of Makawao charged with electronic enticement of a child in the first-degree.
>> Timothy Crowley Esty, 62, of Kula, charged with commercial sexual exploitation of a minor, promoting pornography for minors and promoting a dangerous drug in the second-degree.
>> Marc Siegel, 45, of Hana charged with electronic enticement of a child in the first-degree and promoting pornography for minors.
>> Andrei Dogar, 60, of Peoria, Ariz. charged with electronic enticement of a child in the first-degree.
>> Miguel Alfredo Aquino-Martinez, 28, of Los Angeles, Calif. charged with electronic enticement of a child in the first-degree
>> Eulalio Hufalar, 48, of Lahaina charged with electronic enticement of a child in the first degree.
>> Tyler Chaco, 19, of Kihei charged with commercial sexual exploitation of a minor.
>> William Bodelson, 74, of Kihei, charged with electronic enticement of a child in the first-degree.
Bail was set at $100,000 each for the nine men.
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