Eleven men are facing felony charges after driving to Westfield, expecting to meet minor girls for sex, only to discover undercover officers waiting instead. The Hamilton County Internet Crimes Against Children Metro Task Force conducted a three-day operation that finished on September 24; all 11 suspects were booked into the Hamilton County Jail.
According to WIBC 93.1 FM, the males spoke online with what they thought were young girls before driving to Westfield, where undercover detectives were waiting for them. Investigators stated that they obtained digital evidence and statements from the individuals to support the allegations. According to Larry Infishers, the task team, which was based at the Fishers Police Department, conducted the operation from September 22 to September 24 with assistance from officers in Greenwood, Lebanon, and Westfield.
The suspects vary in age and hometown. They include 30-year-old Lucky Udoudo of Carmel, 26-year-old El Hadji Babacar Ndiaye of Indianapolis, 28-year-old Sean Conway of Westfield, 21-year-old David Gomez-Posada of Irving, Texas, 31-year-old Simon Cinzah of Indianapolis, 41-year-old Homero Arevalo of Logansport, 25-year-old Darian Foster of Indianapolis, 49-year-old Arvind Kaul of Carmel, 36-year-old Jermas McNeal Jr. of Indianapolis, 38-year-old Michael Podniestrazanski of
All eleven face child solicitation charges. Several people are facing additional charges: Flores is accused of sexual misconduct with a kid as well as three counts of broadcasting dangerous material to minors, while Udoudo and Cinzah are also charged with sexual misconduct with minors. McNeal has also been charged with resisting law enforcement. Separately, task force records acquired by LarryInFishers show Flores facing Level 4 attempted sexual misconduct with a juvenile and Level 6 attempted dissemination of damaging matter, while Udoudo and Cinzah face Level 4 attempted sexual misconduct charges.
The child-solicitation charges are under Indiana Code Section 35-42-4-6. When the 11 men arrived at the Hamilton County Jail, they were each charged with a Level 4 felony. A Level 4 felony conviction in Indiana can result in two to twelve years in prison, with a six-year recommended sentence and fines of up to $10,000, according to Justia Law.
A conviction for child solicitation or criminal sexual misconduct with a juvenile requires mandatory registration on the Indiana Sex and Violent Offender Registry under Indiana Code § 11-8-8-4.5, as per the Indiana General Assembly. As the cases progress, the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office may file further charges, according to WIBC.
Five of the 11 men arrested were from Indianapolis, but others came from well beyond Hamilton County to attend the Westfield conference. Suspects came from Logansport in Cass County, Carmel and Westfield in Hamilton County, and even Irving, Texas, according to Larry In Fishers.
The scope of these online stings is not new in the region. Two months before the Westfield operation, Noblesville police and task force officers conducted a four-day undercover web sting targeting pedophiles in Hamilton County, resulting in many felony convictions. The task force’s fake profiles often depict youngsters aged 13 to 15.
The Westfield case is part of a larger pattern that has emerged in Indiana this year. In August, five guys drove roughly 400 miles to Columbus to participate in a similar sting, while a July operation in Howard County resulted in many felony charges.
Many of these instances begin with a CyberTipline referral from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which processes automatic flags from platforms such as Snapchat, Kik, and Google; federal law requires internet companies to submit such warnings. The Hamilton County Metro ICAC Task Force oversaw the Westfield operation, which included undercover work and digital evidence.
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