Fall River, New Bedford, Pittsfield, Brockton, Springfield, Boston area residents among those arrested by Massachusetts State Police in child exploitation operation

FRAMINGHAM – Today, the Massachusetts State Police announced the results of Operation Firewall, a three-day, statewide operation that occurred last week. Developed by the State Police’s Division of Investigative Services, the Operation addresses the growing problem of possession, production, and sharing of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), as well as child enticement and other illegal activity.

Over the course of three days, Operation Firewall resulted in arrests across 38 Massachusetts communities. Troopers executed 34 residential search warrants, seized 229 devices, and arrested 56 individuals ranging in age from 18 to 75. The defendants will face charges connected to child pornography, child enticement, as well as charges stemming from outstanding warrants for assault and battery of a child, rape of a child, and failure to register with the Sex Offender Registry Board.

“The Massachusetts State Police are working hard every day to keep our communities safe, especially our children,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Thank you to Colonel Noble, all of the troopers involved and our partners for their hard work to take these predators off the street.”

“The Massachusetts State Police remain committed to investigating crimes against children and holding perpetrators accountable,” said Colonel Geoffrey Noble. “Over several months, members of the State Police’s Division of Investigative Services used their training and skill to develop these cases. I commend the Troopers for their hard work to overcome the evasive tactics of suspects and build a comprehensive operational plan to safely remove predators from our streets.”

“Trooper-Investigators worked cross functionally over several weeks to develop Operation Firewall with the goal of making Massachusetts safer for our kids and their families,” said Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Tucker. “The Operation epitomizes the community safety objectives of the Department’s Excellence Initiative and illustrates the power of working together on behalf of our most vulnerable residents.”

Operation Firewall relied on the skill and technical expertise of several State Police Units, including the Cyber Crime Unit, the High Risk Victims Unit, the State Police Detective Units within each District Attorney’s Office, the Special Tactical Operations Team (STOP Team), and the Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section. With the support of uniformed Troopers and Local Officers in the field, police executed dozens of residential search warrants, sting operations, and outstanding warrant arrests.

Many child pornography investigations stem from the growing number of Cyber Tips the Department receives from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding suspicious activity online. Under federal law (United States Code Title 18, Chapter 110, § 2258A), electronic service providers are required to submit a Cyber Tip Line Report with NCMEC when they recognize dangerous behavior. Troopers assigned to the Cyber Crime Unit within Division of Investigative Services review Cyber Tips to determine if the associated content violates Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 272 § 29C (Possession of Child Pornography) and requires further investigation.

Since 2020, the number of Cyber Tips received by State Police has increased more than 270%. Last week alone, NCMEC reported 1,074 cyber tips for further investigation by the Cyber Crime Unit.

Troopers also coordinate investigations through the Massachusetts Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), one of more 60 coordinated task forces across the country dedicated to investigating, prosecuting and developing effective responses to internet crimes against children. ICAC Task Force agencies are engaged in both proactive and reactive investigations, forensic examinations, and criminal prosecutions. By helping state and local agencies develop effective, sustainable responses to online child victimization, including responses to child sexual abuse images, the ICAC Program has increased law enforcement’s capacity to combat technology facilitated crimes against children at every level.

In addition to child pornography offenses, Troopers assigned to the High Risk Victims Unit and Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section conducted missions as part of Operation Firewall to pursue and apprehend criminals who commit or attempt to commit a variety of sexual offenses with children, including contact, enticement, trafficking, and aggravated rape.

According to Boston 25 News, State police released the names of the 56 suspects:

• Jared Tracey, 40, of New Bedford, is charged with encticement of a child
• Fabop DeAmaral, 32, of New Beford, is charged with encticement of a child
• Theron Carmean, 63, of New Beford, is charged with encticement of a child
• Jhon Fafur, 27, of North Adams, is charged with encticement of a child
• Joseph Gagnon, 67, of North Adams, is charged with encticement of a child
• Zack Comstock, 51, of North Adams, is charged with encticement of a child
• Chrstopher Tague, 38, of North Adams, is charged with encticement of a child
• Dononeil Nebar, 39, of Pittsfield, is charged with encticement of a child
• Thomas Kushi, 57, of Pittsfield, is charged with encticement of a child
• Michael Reu, 55, of Pittsfield, is charged with encticement of a child
• Jason Hadsell, 57, of Pittsfield, is charged with encticement of a child
• Robert Sabin, 69, of Pittsfield, is charged with encticement of a child
• Bernard Jordon, 46, of Springfield, is charged with encticement of a child
• Zachary Grchan, 35, of Springfield, is charged with encticement of a child
• Christopher Morin, 53, of Becket, is charged with failure to register
• Henry Glazier, 58, of Great Barrington, is charged with failure to register
• Drew Kelly, 37, of Lenox, is charged with failure to register
• Raymond Martin, 49, of North Adams, is charged with failure to register
• Michael Page, 57, of Pittsfield, is charged with failure to register
• Wayne Bingle, 71, of Pittsfield, is charged with failure to register
• George Wetherell, 40, of Pittsfield, is charged with failure to register
• Edwin Colon, 57, of Agawam, is charged with rape, assault and battery on a child
• Alfred Koroma, 31, of Framingham, is charged with rape, assault and battery on a child
• David Homen, 60, of Lowell, is charged with rape, assault and battery on a child
• Darwin Ruiz, 19, of Pittsfield, is charged with rape, assault and battery on a child
• Devin Batista, 23, of Taunton, is charged with rape, assault and battery on a child
• Alejandro Busby-Bosch, 19, of Abington, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Ronald Aman, 57, of Attleboro, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• William Connors, 28, of Bellingham, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Brian Lindelof, 37, of Brockton, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Tyler Stevens, 29, of Charlton, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Orlando Bernier, 39, of Chelsea, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Matheus Kennedy Meneses Bicalho, 29, of Clinton, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Elliot Oullette-Cormier, 31, of Dartmouth, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Alexander Ventura, 28, of Dedham, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Daniel Torres, 24, of Fitchburg, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• William McNeil, 24, of Foxboro, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Rebekah McCoy, 46, of Grafton, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Joseph Constantino, 29, of Hull, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Tony Leng, 36, of Lynn, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Griffen Larkin, 27, of Malden, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Noah Adams, 19, of Millbury, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Graham Symons, 75, of Natick, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Jarod Chmielewski, 21, of New Bedford, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Matthew Thompson, 49, of New Beford, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Trent Kelley, 23, of Pepperell, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Keith Cheverie, 39, of Plymouth, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Parker Huggins, 25, of Sutton, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Daniel Cruz, 18, of Templeton, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Christian Deschenes, 21, of Truro, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Kevin Dorvilien, 23, of Worcester, is charged with possesion of child pornography
• Thomas Dolan, 68, of Amherst, is charged with enticement of a child
• Christopher Coleman, 49, of Fall River, is charged with enticement of a child
• Lopez-Santiago Manuel, 46, of Great Barrington, is charged with enticement of a child
• Kevin DeRosa, 40, of Greenfield, is charged with enticement of a child

The State Police urge anyone with information regarding the exploitation of children anywhere is urged to report it to police by calling 911.

“Operation Firewall illustrates the important role of parents and caregivers to help meet the growing problem of child pornography and child enticement. Every parent in Massachusetts needs to know what’s on their children’s devices. They need to monitor who they’re speaking to online, and they need to set clear expectations that it’s never okay to create or share explicit material of yourself or another person,” said Colonel Noble. “As a father of three myself, I understand how difficult those conversations can be — but they are essential. When parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, and law enforcement work together, we create the firewall that keeps our children safe.”