Eleven men have been arrested in an online child sex trafficking sting in the western North Dakota oil patch, according to federal court documents unsealed Tuesday.
The men, who range in age between 18 and 50, are charged separately with attempted sex trafficking of children. Not all of them have appeared in court.
Last weekend’s arrests were part of an operation in which federal and state law enforcement officers, posing as online sex traffickers, offered underage girls for sex in the Dickinson area. A similar effort last month in the Williston area netted three arrests.
“The number of arrests resulting from this operation is very concerning,” U.S. Attorney Timothy Purdon told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Neil Fulton, head of the federal public defender’s office for the Dakotas, said he has yet to see documents for all of the defendants he has been assigned.
“Allegations of criminal activity remain only allegations until proven regarding the type of case or number of people charged,” Fulton said. “We will begin to review each case independently as it comes in.”
Charged in the case are Milton Davis, 50; Justin Hess, 32; Charles Hood, 43; Lawrence Hundley, 50; Clayton Lakey, 34; Justin Mattson, 41; Devin Schaner, 22; Ramont Thomas, 28; Rafael Torres, 32; Celestino Valle, 18; and Zachary Wolff, 21.
The indictments accuse each man of knowingly attempting to “recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, obtain and maintain by any means” a female minor for sex.
A judge has sealed affidavits with details about the case after prosecutors warned that further information might jeopardize the safety of undercover agents.
Hometowns for the men were not available, but most are believed to have to come to work in the oil patch from out of state.
“Anyone who does not realize that our hometowns in Western North Dakota are developing big city crime problems has not been paying attention,” Purdon said. “The results of this operation are just further evidence of these stark changes.”
