FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FEBRUARY 5, 2016

CONTACT:
EMAIL:

SUSAN NILAND/JOSH DEVINE

TBI PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICERS
TBI.MEDIA@TN.GOV

MULTI-STATE JOINT OPERATION COMBATS HUMAN TRAFFICKING, EXPLOITATION IN TENNESSEE & GEORGIA

CHATTANOOGA Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn joined Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director
Vernon Keenan to announce today the results of a three-day, multi-state effort to combat human trafficking and the online
exploitation of children in Tennessee and Georgia.
The agencies conducted Operation Watchful Guardians in Chattanooga and Dalton, Georgia, with the partnership of the
Chattanooga Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office, the Whitfield County Sheriffs Office, the Dalton
Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Second Life Chattanooga, and End Slavery Tennessee.
During the operation, TBI and GBI Agents and Intelligence Analysts conducted simultaneous operations that worked to
identify, investigate and prosecute traffickers, online predators, and rescue victims.
According to TBI Director Mark Gwyn, the results of Operation Watchful Guardians further demonstrated that
partnerships among law enforcement are critical in combating these demand-driven crimes. Cooperation is always
important in law enforcement, but it is never more important than when we set out to protect children, said Gwyn. This
operation gave us an opportunity to share our experience, information and resources, across units, agencies and state
lines, to make sure there is no safe place to hide for criminals who would victimize the most vulnerable among us.
The TBI operation had two different angles. The first involved identifying potential victims of human trafficking, while
targeting those attempting to purchase illicit sex. During that aspect of the operation, 168 different men contacted
undercover Agents depicted in three online advertisements. Agents arrested 16 men attempting to purchase sex from a
prostitute. Agents also arrested four women advertised as prostitutes. This week's efforts resulted a gun seizure with
armor-piercing rounds, as well as drugs and drug paraphernalia. Those arrested included persons from four states ranging
in age from 25 to 62, some with active warrants and on active probation.
With the assistance of nonprofit agencies End Slavery Tennessee and Second Life Chattanooga, the undercover operation
conducted this week also identified potential victims of trafficking. These women were offered services provided by the
nonprofits that include housing, counseling, and addiction treatment.
Those arrested and cited for prostitution-related offenses, enhanced because of the location's proximity to a school, by
the Chattanooga Police Department include:
Robert Shrewbury, 54, Breeding, KY
David Doane, 54, Powell, TN

Roland Hoeger, 62, Chattanooga, TN

Clint Lane, 53, Hixson, TN

Henry Pabon-Cruz, 42, Unknown

John VonKlar, 51, Chattanooga, TN
Michael Bosinger, 45, Signal Mountain, TN
Mardogueo Alvaredo Lopez, 36, Unknown
Eddie Riley, 38, North Augusta, SC
Russell Beesley, 52, Ringold, GA

Shailesh Chauhad, 37, Unknown

Patrick Dodd, 25, Chickamauga, GA
Anthony Wagner, 45, Decherd, TN
Edwin Tucker, 31, Chattanooga, TN
Daniel Ringhofer, 48, Chattanooga, TN
Orlando Farrington, 36, Ooltewah, TN

The second objective focused on identifying individuals searching for sex with minors online. During that course of the
operation, TBI Special Agents assigned to the TBI Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force arrested and charged
three men who were using the internet in an attempt to find underage girls for sex. TBIs ICAC Agents are housed within
the Technical Services Unit at TBIs Nashville headquarters and have statewide responsibility for targeting individuals who
attempt to victimize children online.
Those arrested and charged by the TBI in connection to this portion of the investigation include:
Thomas de Matteis, 53, Hazel Green, AL, Attempted Aggravated Statutory Rape
Michael Wyatt, 45, Cleveland, TN, Attempted Aggravated Statutory Rape
Jaron Moore, 32, Red Bank, TN, Sexual Exploitation of a Minor by Electronic Means
The collective work by all agencies resulted in additional investigative leads Agents continue to pursue in ongoing
investigations. The operation in Dalton, Georgia, executed by GBI, netted twelve arrests.
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