Image Credit: TBI
NASHVILLE – Ten people face felony charges and more than a dozen victims have been identified in a large-scale, collaborative operation to target online child exploitation and sextortion in Tennessee.
Over a three-month period, from October through December, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, housed within the Cybercrime and Digital Evidence Unit (CDEU), conducted “Operation Autumn Shield”.
The purpose of this operation was to identify and locate children who were victims of sextortion and online sexual exploitation, and to identify and arrest individuals whose goal is to harm children online.
“Operation Autumn Shield” resulted in 19 child victims being identified and located as victims of online sexual exploitation and sextortion, and 10 subjects arrested on various internet crimes against children.
This operation included an instance involving artificial intelligence, where a male subject used AI technology applications to produce an image of his minor daughter into a nude photograph, and shared it online.
Agents also identified and located a 14-year-old male who founded “101”, an online extremist group that extorts minors into self-harm and producing child sexual abuse material.
The “101” is a spin-off of “764″, which the Department of Justice describes as a network of violent extremists that seeks to normalize the production, sharing, and possession of child sexual abuse and gore material to corrupt and groom their victims toward future violence.
TBI ICAC Task Force Agents identified and located 14 known child victims of sextortion in Tennessee that were reported through NCMEC cybertips.
Agents are still attempting to identify and locate an additional 8 more children who are victims of sextortion. The ages of these children were 12-17 years old.
Most of these victims were on social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat. These companies did make the initial report to NCMEC. Five of the 19 child victims were identified and rescued as they were victims of brand-new sexual exploitation content being created by the offender and shared on social media platforms.
The actions of this operation extended to 19 counties in the state, including the work of 18 local, state, and federal law enforcement partners: Sequatchie County Sheriff’s Department, Henry County Sheriff’s Department, Paris Police Department, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Marion County Sheriff’s Department, Robertson County Sheriff’s Department, 12th Judicial Drug Task Force, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department, Polk County Sheriff’s Department, Humbolt Police Department, Pickett County Sheriff’s Department, 13th District Attorney’s Office, 27th District Attorney’s Office, Martin Police Department, Cannon County Sheriff’s Department, Gibson County Sheriff’s Department, and Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department.
The individuals below were arrested during “Operation Autumn Shield” and charged with Sexual Exploitation of Children and other related offenses.
More arrests may be forthcoming in these investigations upon the completion of forensic processing of the seized electronic devices.
*Michael Houston Williford (DOB 11/18/1985), Sequatchie County, one count Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, over 100 images.
*Joshua James Long (DOB 08/10/1977), Marion County, one count Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, over 100 images.
*Rory Cullen Frerichs (DOB 02/01/2002), Polk County, one Count Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, over 100 images.
*Rodney W. Griffin (DOB 05/02/1996), Pickett County, one count Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, over 100 images.
*Stephen Thomas Dyer (DOB 10/09/1996), Lawrence County, one count Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
*Brandon Gene Collier (DOB 03/31/1989), Henry County, one count Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
*Juvenile, 16 years old, Gibson County, one count Incest, one count Rape of a Child, one count Especially Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, one count Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, one count Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. (not pictured)
*Anthony Loughton Spicer (DOB 03/17/1965), Robertson County, three counts Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
*Wade Ellis Williams (DOB 06/20/1973), Pickett County, one count Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, over 100 images.
*Cody Baird (DOB 01/30/2003), Cannon County, one count Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, one count Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
*****
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is an ICAC affiliate of the Tennessee ICAC Task Force. Anyone with information about these cases or other cases of online child exploitation should contact the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Tipline at 1-800-TBI-FIND, TipsToTBI@tbi.tn.gov, or report via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org.
