11 Arrested For Online Crimes Against Children In Forsyth Co. Probe

CUMMING, GA — Eleven people were arrested during the weekend's Operation Masquerade, a multi-agency probe into internet crimes against children

The Forsyth County Sheriff's led the operation alongside the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Alpharetta Police Department, Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office and U.S. Department of Homeland Security

The sheriff's office said the operation centered on people accused of preying on juveniles online and soliciting them for sex.

While 11 people were arrested during Operation Masquerade, warrants have been issued against five more people for obscene internet contact with a minor.

During the three-day operation, the following people were arrested:

• Carlos "Rafael" Ortiz-Penado: 37, of Gainesville, charged on suspicion of illegal solicitation, entice or seduce a minor and trafficking of persons for labor or sex
• Salvador "Salva" Alejandro Vazquez: 33, of Lawrenceville, charged on suspicion of child molestation, illegal solicitation and entice or seduce a minor (Authorities said Vazquez claimed to be a missionary from Guatemala, selling Bibles in the U.S. legally.)

• Erick Rafael Garban-Ochoa: 31, of Stone Mountain, charged on suspicion of illegal solicitation and entice or seduce a minor (Authorities said Garban-Ochoa was illegally in the U.S. from Venezuela and claimed he crossed the border illegally one month and 14 days before this arrest.)

• Tucker Pigott: 29, of Cumming, charged on suspicion of illegal solicitation, entice or seduce a minor and trafficking of persons for labor or sex.
• Srinath Banothu: 28, of Waleska, charged on suspicion of illegal solicitation and entice or seduce a minor.
• Cody Wood: 33, of Dahlonega, charged on suspicion of illegal solicitation, entice or seduce a minor and trafficking of persons for labor or sex.
• Israel Ibarra-Hinojosa: 30, of Ringold, charged on suspicion of illegal solicitation and entice or seduce a minor.
• Tahir Taylor: 24, of Loganville, charged on suspicion of illegal solicitation and entice or seduce a minor.
• Peter Heintz: 39, of Marietta, charged on suspicion of illegal solicitation, entice or seduce a minor and obscene internet contact with a minor.
• Brett DelRosso: 33, of Woodstock, charged on suspicion of illegal solicitation, entice or seduce a minor and hold for Cherokee County.

• Michael Kinser: 29, of Lilburn, charged on suspicion of illegal solicitation, entice or seduce a minor, failure to obey traffic control device and fleeing or attempting to elude. (Authorities said Kinser was convicted on similar charges in 2014 in Florida and was required to register as a sex offender in Florida.)

“Endanger our children in Forsyth County and you will find out what jail and no bond looks like. I am very proud of our Internet Crimes Against Children Unit and appreciate the unwavering support of our partner agencies during this operation,” Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman said in a news release.

“Simple message here, you want to harm a child, not in Forsyth County! This is a wakeup call for all our parents. Make sure you know your child’s online activity. There are predators waiting to do harm if they have the opportunity."

Operation Masquerade is the second operation of its kind in Forsyth County, authorities said. In 2019, Operation Just Cause led to the arrest of 24 people for similar charges and have led to them either pleading or being convicted of those crimes, authorities said.