Sheriff’s office: Lexington men among 8 arrested in undercover child exploitation sting
An undercover child exploitation investigation in Boyle County has landed several Kentucky men in jail, according to the Boyle County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation featured sheriff’s deputy Guss Curtis acting as a 15-year-old girl and communicating with people over different social media or dating site platforms, according to WKYT, the Herald-Leader’s reporting partner. The sheriff’s office said suspects requested sexual performances from the make-believe teenager from Boyle County and also sent explicit photos.
A total of eight people have been arrested in the operation, according to WKYT. Two of the men — Wyatt Hines, 20, and Brian Roberts, 27 — are from Lexington, according to the sheriff’s office. Hines was arrested Dec. 9 after sending the obscene messages in late November, according to his arrest citation.
A third man recently arrested, 24-year-old Clayton Fields, is from Anderson County. The sheriff’s office said all three have been charged with promoting/procuring a minor to engage in sexual performances by electronic means.
Hines and Roberts were also charged with distribution of obscene matter to minors, the sheriff’s office said.
Fields’ arrest citation says he made contact with Curtis in late November. After he was arrested, he admitted to communicating with Curtis thinking he was speaking to a 15-year-old girl and that he was informed of the girl’s age three to four times.
“The Boyle County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Lexington Police Department, Lawrenceburg Police Department, and Anderson County Sheriffs Office for their assistance with these investigations,” the Boyle County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
The operation began in October, according to WKYT.
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