A Montgomery County police officer was one of seven men arrested in an online sex sting meant to snare men looking to arrange sexual trysts with children.
Montgomery County officer Christopher Dunkes was arrested by Prince William County Police and charged with trying to arrange sexual or indecent acts with a child. He was also charged with using a communication device to facilitate an offense with children.
Dunkes had only been with the department for two years and was servicing as a patrolman in Bethesda.
The officer was nabbed by an operation carried out by members of the Special Victims and Intelligence Unit, who posed as young children in Craigslist ads and various social media platforms.
Police say Dunkes thought he was arranging a meeting with a 15-year-old girl via a Craigslist ad and had planned to meet the child at a local Target store.
As WJLA TV reported, the others arrested were Steven Castillo, 20, Jeffrey Dimond, 35, Curtis Jenkins, 54, Jordan Kolbinskie, 23, David Mathes, 58, and Chad Warner, 24.
Prince William County Sgt. Perok noted that the suspects do not have a “look” that might peg them as would-be child molesters.
The sergeant said:
If you look at the mug shots in this case, there is not [sic] set mold, there is no set look. It could really be anybody, any occupation, and that’s why it’s important for us to conduct these operations and for parents to have those talks with their kids about the dangers of the Internet.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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