8 arrested in Wake County trafficking, child sex abuse sting
Eight people face multiple charges after a three-day human trafficking and child predation sting by the Wake Forest Police Department and Wake County Sheriff’s Office.
Undercover officers posed as children and sex traffickers, then met with and arrested alleged offenders across Wake Forest from Nov. 12-15, officials announced Monday.
Homeland Security Investigations, the State Bureau of Investigation, the Cary Police Department, the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office, the Wake County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina’s Raleigh-Cary Area Human Trafficking Task Force helped in the sting, according to a news release.
The following people were arrested:
Rosendo Benitez Rodriguez, 26, of Raleigh, on charges of attempted statutory rape and solicitation of a child by computer
Romael Eliberto Morales-Escobar, 25, of Apex, on charges of attempted statutory rape and solicitation of a child by computer
Mahdi Sarbedar, 33, of Raleigh, on charges of attempted statutory rape and solicitation of a child by computer
Ramon Ayala Mendoza, 41, of Chapel Hill, on charges of attempted statutory rape, attempted statutory sex offense and solicitation of a child by computer
Valentin Cruz-Salazar, 39, of Raleigh, on charges of attempted statutory rape and solicitation of a child by computer
Brian Deshawn Mobley, 51, of Middlesex, on charges of attempted statutory rape and solicitation of a child by computer
Alejandro Sean Colon, 22, of Spring Lake, on charges of attempted statutory rape, attempted statutory sex offense, indecent liberties with a child and solicitation of a child by computer
Faud Hossain, 26, of Durham, on charges of attempted statutory rape, attempted statutory sex offense and solicitation of a child by computer
Court documents for most of the charges were redacted, though Mobley’s arrest warrant alleges he tried to have sex with an undercover detective he believed was 14 years old. It’s not clear where the men met with undercover officers or how they communicated with the officers they believed were children.
“Police officials say one of the reasons child sex crimes and human trafficking are on the rise is because predators now have access to their victims via home computers and cell phones,” the release stated. “As a result, parents should stay vigilant by keeping track of what their children are doing online and off and by asking questions.”
The majority of the men remained in the Wake County Detention Center as of Monday afternoon, jail records show. Colon posted $300,000 secured bail Saturday, according to court documents, while records could not be found for Mendoza, Cruz-Salazar and Rodriguez.
