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Twelve people, including a middle school teacher, were arrested in a child sex sting dubbed "Operation Bad Santa" in New Jersey, authorities announced via the New York Post.
The suspects, who were reported to be between the ages of 23 to 65, were accused of attempting to lure in minors for sex when they showed up to a Middlesex County home expected to meet a child but were instead confronted by police. The multi-agency operation was led by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Internet Crimes Against Children Unit and took place between December 8 and December 15.
Undercover officers posed as children engaging in conversations through social media and messaging apps, which steered the suspects to the locations of their arrests. Delpis Reynoso-Castro, 26, of New Brunswick; Marcos Aguila, 57, of East Brunswick; Jose Leguia, 57, of Old Bridge; Hareshkumar 'Harry' Vala, 44, of Dunellen; Vedant Khandelwal, 38, of Bridgewater; Kevin Knox, 65, of North Brunswick; Cameron Ameye, 33, of Bloomingdale; and Joseph Davicsin, 46, of East Brunswick, were charged with second-degree luring and third-degree criminal attempt to endanger sexual conduct with a child, while Jorge Mora, 52, of Jackson; and Akash Shah, 23, of East Brunswick are also facing counts related to allegedly distributing obscene material to a minor.
Raul Angeles, 53, of Asbury Park; was charged with third-degree attempted endangering sexual conduct with a child, while James Keating, 59, of Edison faces the same charges, as well as an additional charge of distributing obscene material to a minor.
Two of the defendants held positions of trust with young people with Ameye employed as a program coordinator for Youth Rise and Davicsin working as a middle school teacher in Elizabeth. Middlesex County authorities worked alongside the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security in the sting operation.