A four-day undercover sex sting operation in Pennsylvania led to the arrests of six men who tried to engage with children in unlawful sexual conduct, authorities said Wednesday.
Undercover agents posing as minors on websites and social media busted the six men, ranging in age from 24 to 56, in Delaware County and charged them with multiple counts of child sex-related crimes, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office said.
The men were identified as Joseph P. Fahy, 48, of Media, Penn.; Laurence D. Tom, 47, of Philadelphia; Stephen L. Maghandy-Taghap, 37, of Philadelphia; Tyler A. Wilder, 30, of Glenmoore, Penn.; Andrew Chang, 56, of Upper Darby, Penn.; and Daniel J. Thurman-Miller, 24, of Colorado Spring, Colorado.
All six men engaged in online communication with an undercover agent who posed as either a 14-year-old boy or girl before traveling to a meetup spot to engage in sexual conduct, ranging from oral sex, sexual intercourse and anal sex, officials said.
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Once they each arrived at the agreed location in Tinicum Township, authorities took them into custody.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer called the alleged conduct of the six men "shameful" and said that it "cannot be tolerated in a civil society."
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"There can be no disagreement that the sexual exploitation of children is morally and legally wrong, yet in each of these cases, men — each of whom were repeatedly advised of the age of their intended sexual partner – engaged in online conversations of a sexually explicit nature and arranged for a meet up to engage in sexual activity," Stollsteimer said.
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Bail was set at $250,000 for each suspect ahead of a preliminary hearing on December 19.