Pair of Pedophiles Captured in Sting Operation

Winchester, TN Police Chief Dennis Young, was busy monitoring a surveillance video which had been set up inside a local motel room. The sting operation was underway as Winchester Police, FBI agents and Franklin County's ICAC Department worked together to capture a pair of international traffickers in kiddie porn. They were successful in doing that, as well as netting thousands of dollars in crystal meth that the pair had brought into Tennessee from Atlanta. The sting netted more than 450 computer files showing young children in sexual acts and being sexually abused. They also discovered the attempted sale of a young teenage boy for $10,000.

Captured in the Winchester, TN sting were 57 year-old Gary Salles, a gay photographer from Atlanta, Georgia and his suspected partner, Mike Lattimore.

Gary Salles proclaims himself to be a pedophile and says that he is a "mentor to gay and lesbian adolescents".

Winchester, TN Police Chief, Dennis Young, says, "To see the videos firsthand, that he was sharing, was exciting to him (Salles). For example, a four-year-old being raped, molested . . . he would really get excited."

The Police Chief is giving credit not only to his local police officers but also to the FBI and ICAC for their assistance in capturing Salles and Lattimore. He states, "I don't believe this man is going to see the light of day again if we have anything to do with it."

Gary Salles and Mike Lattimore have been transported to Chattanooga, TN for arraignment in Federal Court.

Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) is a Task Force Program created to help state and local law enforcement agencies become better equipped and trained to investigate offenders who use the Internet or other computer technologies to sexually exploit children. According to information on their website, they currently have 59 regional Task Force Agencies with funding by the United States Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

To find a Task Force near you, you can go to ICAC Task Force, and click on your state to obtain information about a task force in your area.

You can also visit the Youth Internet Safety Survey website to learn more about the prevalence and types of internet victimization that occurs in our country. This information is provided by the Crimes Against Children Research Center and is the result of a 1999 research survey. Although this survey is ten years old, it will provide a good idea as to the prevalence of the problems that ICAC and other police and law enforcement agencies are facing today.

Sources:

http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=9694827

http://www.icactraining.org/

http://www.ovc.gov/publications/bulletins/internet_2_2001/internet_2_01_6.html