LCSD announces additional arrests in operation targeting online child predators
COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department says three more men face charges in connection with an operation that targets online child predators.
Deputies say 49-year-old Steven Leslie Wright, a Florida man with connections to South Carolina, is charged with criminal solicitation of a minor, attempted dissemination of obscene material to a person under 18 and sexual exploitation of a minor.
“Wright is the 23rd man arrested as part of the monthlong operation we hosted in the summer with the Lexington Police Department and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said. “The intent of these suspects during these communications is clear. They wanted to persuade, entice or coerce someone they reasonably believed to be under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activity.”
Authorities say Wright is a past sex offender who failed to stay current with the sex offender registry in the state.
“He used the Meet24 app to send messages and pictures to a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl,” Koon said. “Wright was arrested last month in Pickens County.”
In addition to this arrest, deputies say two men turned themselves in on charges stemming from the same operation. Officials say 23-year-old Michael Alexander Najera, of North Carolina, is charged with criminal solicitation of a minor, attempted dissemination of obscene material to a person under 18 and sexual exploitation of a minor. Officials also say 30-year-old Hampton Craig Short, of Charlotte, is charged with criminal solicitation of a minor, attempted dissemination of obscene material to a person under 18.
Sheriff Koon says no children were used or placed in danger during this operation.
