Nine men were arrested and charged with online solicitation of a minor in a crimes against children investigation in Fort Worth, police say.
Fort Worth police said the department's Internet Crimes Against Children Unit worked a joint investigation, dubbed "Operation Stylianos," on Aug. 8-9, with the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, the Arlington Police Department and various federal agencies.
In the sting, undercover officers placed personal ads and used covert social media and communications platforms "to communicate with potential targets who were looking to have sexual intercourse with a minor under the age of 17."
The department said 11 people were arrested and that four people committed additional crimes for which arrest warrants will be obtained. Tactical polygraphs were given to willing participants to determine if there are additional victims.
The following nine men were arrested and charged with online solicitation of minor, a third-degree felony. If a minor is younger than 14-years-old, or is an individual whom the suspect believes to be younger than 14-years-old at the time of the commission of the crime, the charge is a second-degree felony.
Those arrested in the sting were:
- Christopher Alan Hodge, 44. Police said Hodge believed he was meeting a 15-year-old girl and that he consented to a DPS polygraph. Hodge had an outstanding warrant for assault family violence. He is a homeless man, police said, who walked from a known homeless shelter to the designated meeting location. Police said he used a smart phone with a dating app.
- Gerald Eugene Weishuhn II, 37. Police said Weishuhn believed he was meeting a 13-year-old girl and that he consented to a DPS tactical polygraph.
- Gilmar Coutinho Darosa, 39. Police said Darosa believed he was meeting a 13-year-old girl. He is a Brazilian national and was on probation for a previous sexual assault with a child charge.
- Jose Manuel Guzman Hernandez, 29. Police said Guzman believed he was meeting at 13-year-old girl. He is a Mexican national and is being held on an ICE detainer.
- Mikel Adam Couch, 25. Police said Couch believed he was meeting a 15-year-old girl and that he consented to a DPS tactical polygraph. Police said he gave consent to search his mobile phone and that he showed investigators approximately four videos of child pornography -- for which he will faces charges.
- Christopher Dave Dieterich, 37. Police said Dieterich believed he was meeting a 15-year-old girl and consented to a DPS tactical polygraph.
- Stephen Kyle Honza, 34. Police said Honza believed he was meeting a 15-year-old girl and that he consented to a DPS polygraph.
- Jason Alan Hamner, 40. Police said Hamnter believed he was meeting a 14-year-old girl and consented to a DPS tactical polygraph.
- Stephen Polo Romo, 23. Police said Romo believed he was meeting a 15-year-old girl and that he consented to a DPS tactical polygraph. Romo, police said, also initiated contact with undercover officers by asking how much money was needed to have sex. Romo was also charged with prostitution of a child under 18. Investigators also discovered child pornography on his phone and a warrant will be written at a later date.
