5 child predators arrested in undercover operation in Oklahoma: Cops

Trace Turkelson, William Copeland IV, Cody Ewing, Tracy Fisher and Otha Smith III (Canada County Sheriff’s Office)

Five men in Oklahoma have been arrested after law enforcement conducted a four-day jab to catch child molesters.

according to a press release from the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), the five suspects taken into custody include Trace Turkelson, 22, of Elgin; Cody Ewing, 27, from Yukon; Tracy Fisher, 41, of Tulsa; William Copeland IV, 29, of Calhan, CO; and Otha Smith III, 37, of Linden, Texas.

The sophisticated sting was a joint operation by CCSO and the non-profit organization Safe from Online Sex Abuse (SOSA). It involved the use of a decoy house that the suspects allegedly believed was the home of girls aged 14 and 15.

Authorities say SOSA supplied the operation with two female actresses who acted as bait. They acted out the roles and communicated with the supposed predators. Communication included video chats, text messages, phone calls and direct messages on social media platforms.

The alleged conversations with the suspects “escalated very quickly into sexually graphic conversations,” the sheriff’s office said.

The suspects are accused of sending nude photos to the bait and “describing sexual acts that those arrested wanted to perform with the alleged girls.” Several of the suspects are also accused of sending videos of themselves masturbating.

“Conversations with the predators were extremely disturbing, including fetish demands, use of names like daddy, graphic sexual acts they wanted to perform with the children, and a predator discussing procreation with the female child,” officials said. “All suspects were also concerned about being caught by law enforcement and some asked the decoys to live chat to ensure they were real people.”

In addition to the bait house, the sting involved the use of hotels and restaurants, which investigators say were chosen by the suspects. Investigators said all five suspected predators cooperated with authorities and admitted their intentions when they met these decoys.”

According to the sheriff’s office, Otha Smith traveled the furthest of the five suspects, driving about five hours to meet one of the decoy actresses at a hotel.

Canada County Sheriff Chris West said SOSA provided investigators with real-time communications with the suspected predators and other resources throughout the operation.

“This is not the first time my office has worked with SOSA to investigate child abuse and I hope they continue to be available for our child abuse program in the future,” West said.

The arrested were in the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center on allegations of facilitating sexual communication with a minor, lewd behavior with a child under the age of 16, intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance to a minor, and Oklahoma computer crime violations arrested and booked law.

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