12 suspected online predators busted by undercover Clinton Co. investigators

FRANKFORT, Ind. – An 18-month-long sting operation has landed a dozen suspected predators in jail. Detectives with the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office went undercover on popular social media sites to unmask people willing to exploit kids.

Gone are the days of policing with a radio and handcuffs, investigators say. As technology evolves, so must they, in order to stay a step ahead of online predators.

“These were people that looked normal in a lot of ways, which is kind-of disturbing,” said Detective John Greiner.

Engineers, government employees, some married with kids of their own – caught preying on who they thought was a 14-year-old girl for days, months, even a year – but they were really chatting with an undercover cop.

“There is a lot of pressure for our kids to be friends with people they’ve never met,” Greiner said. There’s a lot of people making friend requests. If you’re just available, unfortunately, these people will find you.”

Detective Greiner was one of the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office investigators behind the keyboard over the last year and a half. He said the operation launched after tracking an “uptick” in reports of local kids getting exploited online.

During one conversation, a suspect messaged: “Your foster parents might not like us being together.” The suspect offered to help with math homework, then “make love,” describing sex as “cool” and “fun” in an effort to lure a teen his way.

Instead, once a suspect would make plans and traveled to meet up with the investigators’ profile, he would find himself in a traffic stop on the way, then handcuffs.

Detective Greiner called the onslaught of attention his teen profile received as “overwhelming,” so much so that the team needed to slow down their case load and limit focus to predators primarily from Clinton County and the immediate surrounding areas.

“We tend to believe we have this person picked out, who we think they are. But that’s just not true,” Greiner said.

Of the twelve men caught trying to solicit a child, Detective Greiner said very few had any criminal history, and only one was a known sex offender. In fact, while messaging, he discovered a suspect lived just down the road from him.

“It was definitely kind of shocking to me,” Greiner explained. “It was shocking to my wife, obviously. It was concerning to us in the community because you never want to believe it’s happening in your backyard. But in my case, it literally was.”

That’s why the Sheriff’s Office says their mission now is to educate parents about popular social media platforms like Snapchat, Instagram and Reddit – where investigators found hoards of grown men lurking.

“How old are you and male or female?” one suspect asked, revealing he, himself, is 45. The suspect offered to exchange numbers and “talk and text,” thinking he was talking to a minor.

According to police, the investigation unraveled concerning “fantasies” the suspects allegedly planned to see through. For example, some reportedly wanted to pick up the child and take them to a hotel room. Some were busted bringing narcotics or other “objects not meant for kids.”

Greiner also said perpetrators often try to manipulate kids into acting out, so in addition to monitoring their online activity, parents need to pay attention in general.

“Skip school, get out after dark, leave the home… So I would say to parents, if you’re looking for a change in your kid’s behavior and you’re seeing a big change, that could be one of the causes of it,” Greiner said.

The Sheriff’s Office joined the state’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force several years ago. Although this operation is on pause, Greiner said they plan to ramp efforts back up in the future in collaboration with other agencies. In the meantime, they will continue encouraging parents to learn who their kids are talking to online, have honest conversations, even check their internet history – and not hesitate to call police if predatory behavior is suspected.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s 1 o’clock in the morning or 1 o’clock in the afternoon. We want to get to your house and your device as quickly as we can so we can start that investigation and help you and your family,” Greiner said.

Supporting agencies included Indiana State Police, Frankfort Police Department, Tazwell County Sheriff’s Office (IL), Lafayette Police Department and White County Sheriff’s Office.

Per the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, the arrested suspects were:

• Daniel Fronczak – charged with level 4 felony child solicitation
• Jason Marchand – charged with level 4 felony child solicitation and level 6 felony possession of child sex abuse material
• Trevor Reece – charged with level 4 and 5 felony child solicitation
• Joshua Jenkinson – charged with level 5 felony child solicitation, level 6 felony possession of child pornography and level 6 felony dissemination of matter harmful to minors
• Kenneth Smith – charged with level 5 felony child solicitation and level 6 felony dissemination of matter harmful to minors
• Zachary Zumbuhl – charged with level 4 and 5 felony child solicitation and level 6 felony dissemination of matter harmful to minors
• Michael Walker – charged with level 4 felony child solicitation
• Brant Murray – charged with level 4 felony child solicitation, level 6 felony possession of child pornography, level 6 felony dissemination of matter harmful to minors, and misdemeanor possession of marijuana
• Chad Allenduff – charged with level 5 felony child solicitation and level 6 felony performance before a minor that is harmful to minors
• Ismael Ponce – charged in Illinois with class 3 felony indecent solicitation and aggravated criminal sex abuse
• Dielgo Cruz Gomez – charged with level 4 felony child solicitation
• Robert R. Wells – charged with level 4 felony child solicitation, level 6 felony possession of methamphetamine and level 6 felony possession of child sex abuse material