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‘Operation Bad Santa’ Busts 12 Men in Child Sex Sting
‘Operation Bad Santa’
12 NJ Men Accused of Contacting Minors for Sex
Published
12 sick men from New Jersey ended up on Santa’s extra naughty list after they were busted for trying to meet up with a minor for sex earlier this week.
Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone announced the successful mission called “Operation Bad Santa” took a dozen dudes aged 23 to 65 years old — including a middle school teacher and youth program coordinator — to the slammer after they traveled to a residence expecting to find an underage child for sexual activity. During the multi-agency effort, officers posed as minors on social media and messaging apps, and persuaded the men to meet them at the undisclosed Middlesex address … where they were consequently cuffed.
The operation involved several police departments, the Department of Homeland Security, and the FBI Newark. It took place between December 8 and December 15.
Most of the men were arrested on one count of second-degree luring and one count of third-degree criminal attempt of endangering sexual conduct with a child — all felonies. They have been identified as Marcos Aguila, 57, of East Brunswick; Cameron Ameye, 33, of Bloomingdale; Delpis Reynoso-Castro, 26, of New Brunswick; Jose Leguia, 57, of Old Bridge; Hareshkumar “Harry” Vala, 44, of Dunellen; Vedant Khandelwal, 38, of Bridgewater; Kevin Knox, 65, of North Brunswick; and Joseph Davicsin, 46, of East Brunswick. Raul Angeles, 53, of Asbury Park, was solely charged with one count of third-degree criminal attempt of endangering sexual conduct with a child.
Jorge Mora, 52, of Jackson, and Akash Shah, 23, of East Brunswick, have also been accused of distributing obscene material to a minor. James Keating, 59, of Edison, was arrested on one count of third-degree criminal attempt of endangering sexual conduct with a child and one count of third-degree distributing obscene material to a minor.
Ameye is a program coordinator of Youth Rise, an academic readiness program at Passaic County Community College, and Davicsin is a middle school teacher in Elizabeth, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Ciccone says the investigation is ongoing and reminds the public that all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.