Gainesville Man Among Seven Arrested in Internet Crimes Against Children Operation

Andrew Yun Lee, 41, of Gainesville was one of seven arrested during a joint Internet crimes against children operation. Photos Courtesy of Prince William County Police

A joint proactive operation between April and May 2015, targeting individuals soliciting minors for sexual acts online, concluded with the arrest of seven individuals, one from Gainesville.

This operation, conducted by members of the Northern Virginia/DC Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, including detectives from the Prince William County and Manassas City Police Departments, was not in response to any specific incident and did not involve actual children.

"Undercover detectives used an undisclosed online site and posed as underage juvenile females," police spokesperson Officer Jonathan Perok said. "As a result of the investigation, multiple men contacted the undercover detectives and, during the course of communications, solicited sexual acts."

Perok said these conversations took place through electronic means over the course of multiple days.

"In each of the incidents, the suspect made arrangements to meet the undercover detective at a public location in Prince William County," he said.  "Once there, members of the task force arrested the individual without incident.

Police obtained and executed multiple search warrants on suspects' residences and vehicles.

"The Prince William County Police Department, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and our regional police department partners often conduct these random operations in an attempt to deter any crimes which involve the sexual exploitation of minors," he said. "In conjunction with the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, the appropriate charges were placed against each of these individuals involved in this operation."

Police arrested and charged John Andrew Dutch, 25, of Manassas; Patrick Ryan Hamilton, 34, of Burke; Joshua Kaminoff, 39, of Herndon; Andrew Yun Lee, 41, of Gainesville; Abel Maldonado, 30, Lothian, Md.; Lamar A. Sharp, 28, Manassas; and Ivan Sandoval-Reyes, 21, of no fixed address with attempted indecent liberties with children and using a communication device to facilitate certain offenses involving children.

Maldonado was also charged with the attempt to produce child pornography.

"This operation was conducted in a controlled environment and at no time involved actual children," he said. "We would remind parents to take an active role in monitoring what their children are doing online in hopes of preventing further acts."