10 Arrested in 'Operation Cyber Justice'

Several local law enforcement agencies came together for a four-day operation that targeted people who prey on minors online in an effort to lure them in for sexual activities.

Dubbed “Operation Cyber Justice,” the effort involved officers from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Clearwater Police Department, the St. Petersburg Police Department, Polk County and Homeland Security, to name a few. Between Thursday of last week and Sunday, officers netted 10 arrests in the sting that involved officers posing as minors on websites in an effort to ferret out predators, an email to media from the Pinellas sheriff’s office said.

“During the operation, investigators established a rapport with the subjects where the subjects would arrange to meet with the ‘minor’ for the purpose of sexual activity,” the email said.

This is the third operation staged this year in Pinellas meant to target online predators.

“In each of the previous operations we arrested in excess of 20 people, and in the recent Florida Sheriff’s Taskforce operation, over 130 people who were preying on kids for sex were arrested,” the email said.

Those arrested in the latest operation were:

William Daryl Mantle, 43, Arrested by the Clearwater Police Department
Charges: Traveling to meet a minor, Transmission of material harmful to minors

Tam Thanh Nguyen, 31, Arrested by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Charges: Traveling to meet a minor

Bracey Absher, 28, Arrested by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Charges: Traveling to meet a minor, Violation of probation, Aggravated battery with intent to
cause harm

Danny Weese, 34, Arrested by the Clearwater Police Department
Charges: Traveling to meet a minor, Transmission of material harmful to
minors, Possession of marijuana, Possession of paraphernalia

Nicholas G. Wentz, 29, Arrested by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Charges: Traveling to meet a minor

Derek Garcia, 30, Arrested by the Clearwater Police Department
Charges: Traveling to meet a minor

Joshua William Martinez, 30, Arrested by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Charges: Traveling to meet a minor

Jared Preston Cole, 30, Arrested by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Charges: Traveling to meet a minor

Gerry Kinjorski, 64, Arrested by the Clearwater Police Department
Charges: Traveling to meet a minor

Matthew Chenevert, 29, Arrested by the Clearwater Police Department
Charges: Battery on law enforcement officer, Resisting with violence, Traveling to meet a minor
and two counts of Transmission of material harmful to minors