Loudoun Residents Among 16 Arrests In Child Exploitation Sting

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Sixteen suspects were arrested as part of a months-long sting targeting online predators conducted by the Fairfax County Police Department’s Child Exploitation Unit. Two of the suspects are from Loudoun County.

“I’m looking forward to one day launching one of these investigations and having our detectives inform me and the rest of us that there were no takers,” Chief Kevin Davis said in a news conference Wednesday at Public Safety Headquarters. “There was no one online committing crimes. There's no one online knowingly and intentionally, soliciting sex from young boys and boy girls.”

As part of the investigation, detectives posing as minors visited online platforms predators often used to contact people they believe are underage. Once contact was made, a meetup was scheduled with the suspect, who showed up at the prearranged location intending to commit sexual acts with a minor, authorities said.

“Many of these offenders requested explicit images or videos from children,” Assistant Chief Brooke Wright said. "Some arrived at the meeting location with things like contraceptives, alcohol and drugs that they planned to use with their child victims. Some sent the undercover detectives images of their own genitals and adult pornographic material to demonstrate the acts that they wish to perform with these child victims.”

Tommy Varesh, a 52-year-old man from Canada, traveled to Fairfax County because he believed the child victim’s parents were out of town, according to Wright. Another suspect spent months making plans with detectives for their in-person hookup.

“One specifically described wanting to cause bodily harm to the victim during these planned sex acts,” Wright said. “One suspect was already a registered sex offender, and one of the offenders admitted to having previously had sex with someone he believed was 12 or 13 years old.”

Each of the 16 suspects, ages 20 to 65, were taken into custody when they arrived for their prearranged encounter. They were then cited on a variety of charges, including solicitation of a minor, attempted indecent liberties with children, and the production of child pornography.

These are the 16 suspects arrested as part of the online operation targeting child predators:

• Joel Dario Santamaria Jara, 28, of Sterling, was charged with three counts of solicitation of a minor and attempted indecent liberties with children.
• Dennis Joseph Furey Jr., 50, of Sterling, was charged with four counts of solicitation of a minor.
• Michael Forsht, 59, of Springfield, was charged with four counts of solicitation of a minor and production of child pornography.
• Alexander William Coughlin, 30, of Bristow, was charged with solicitation of a minor.
• Tranh Duy Nguyen, 20, of Woodbridge, was charged with solicitation of a minor.
• Refujio Deleon, 62, of Roanoke, was charged with solicitation of a minor and attempted indecent liberties with children
• Nery Elisio Gonzalez Ordonez, 36, of Springfield, was charged with solicitation of a minor.
• Watcharapong Sapsittikul, 33, of Oakton, was charged with solicitation of a minor.
• Allan Blake Willoughby, 65, of Dinwiddie, was charged with four counts of solicitation of a minor and production of child pornography.
• Simon Roberts, 40, of Annandale, was charged with four counts of solicitation of a minor and production of child pornography.
• Tommy Varesh, 52, of Canada, was charged with 12 counts of solicitation of a minor, production of child pornography, and contributing to delinquency.
• Bacem Megdiche, 26, of Maryland, was charged with three counts of solicitation of a minor, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and distribution of certain drugs to persons under 18 prohibited.
• Benjamin Scott Heyman, 48, of Herndon, was charged with 12 counts of possession/distribution of child pornography (second or subsequent), solicitation of a minor, attempted indecent liberties with a minor, and prostitution/solicitation of a minor.
• Nelson Ivan Perez-Villegas, 30, of Maryland, was charged with solicitation of a minor and attempted indecent liberties with a minor.
• Mario Alexander Bonilla, 49, of Manassas, was charged with five counts of solicitation of a minor, two counts of production of child pornography, eluding, and resisting arrest.
• Saboor Anwari, 23, of Fredericksburg, was arrested by Virginia State Police for three counts of solicitation of a minor, three counts of carnal knowledge of a child between 13 and 15 years, and indecent liberties with a minor. Anwari is awaiting extradition to Fairfax County.

What Parents Need To Know

Parents are encouraged to monitor their children’s activities online, police said. Internet safety information is available at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website.

“Young people will use Snapchat and Facebook Messenger or whatever messaging platforms,” Wright said. “There are always things that are popping up that parents need to be aware of.”
Although going online may be normal for children, FCPD wanted them to know that it was not normal for adults to form relationships with children online.

"If someone's contacting you that you do not know, please do not respond to them," Wright said. "If you have responded, just stop and tell a trusted adult. Tell a parent, tell a guidance counselor, a coach, somebody who you trust. What is happening for the offenders? We want them to know that our investigations are continuing and we're striving to protect everybody in the community."

Anyone with information regarding these incidents or similar ones are asked to call FCPD’s Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800, option 6 or submit a tip through Crime Solvers.

Patch editor Michael O'Connell contributed to this report.