Linden man arrested in Oklahoma child predator sting

A Cass County man was one of five arrested in a child predator sting after he traveled five hours from Linden, Texas to a hotel in Mustang, Oklahoma in an effort to meet up with a young girl, according to Sheriff Chris West, of Canadian County Oklahoma Sheriff ’s Office.

West said CCSO worked in conjunction with the nonprofit organization SOSA (Safe from Online Sex Abuse) in order to conduct a four-day operation to catch child predators looking for children in Canadian County.

“The operation resulted in the arrest of five predators that traveled from as far away as Texas,” West said.

Otha Smith III, 37, of Linden, Texas was one of five arrested in the sting–seemingly traveling further than the other four arrestees. Though Smith headed to a hotel for a meetup with an underaged female, West said some of the stings occurred at restaurants, as well as a decoy house where predators believed 14- and 15-year-old children lived.

“These locations were chosen by the predators and some even wanted the decoys to use rideshare companies to travel to them,” the sheriff said. “These stings were organized by the Canadian County Sheriff ’s investigators and the arrest of the predators had no complications or incidents.”

West said arrestees cooperated with investigators and admitted to their intentions in meeting the decoys.

Two real-life females with SOSA acted as decoys and communicated with the predators through video chats, text messages, phone calls and social media.

“The conversations with the predators escalated to sexually graphic conversations very quickly, including sending nude photos to the decoys and describing sex acts the arrestees desired to perform with the underaged decoy( s),” West said.

Most of the predators also sent videos of themselves performing lewd acts on themselves while talking to decoys they believed to be underage, West said.

“The conversations with the predators were extremely disturbing including fetish demands, using names such as Daddy, graphic sexual acts they planned on doing to the children, and one predator talking about breeding with the female child,” West said. “All suspects were also worried about being caught by law enforcement, and some asked the decoys to do live chats to ensure they were real people.”

The other four arrested included: Trace Turkelson, 22, of Elgin, OK; William Copeland IV, 29, of Calhan, CO; Cody Ewing, 27, of Yukon, OK; and Tracy Fisher, 41, of Tulsa, OK.

Reports state SOSA, who can be reached at their Website sosatogether.org, provided all the evidence to investigators during the sting operation.

“SOSA was able to provide resources and real-time communication with the predators that provided valuable evidence of the crimes committed by the suspects,” West said. “SOSA and Canadian County Sheriff’s Office continue to partner to take internet predators off the streets.

The suspects above were arrested and taken to the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office Detention Facility and booked into jail.”

Predators were arrested for a range of crimes that included Facilitating Sexual communication with a Minor, Lewd Acts with a Child Under 16, Intent to Distribute a Controlled Dangerous Substance to a Minor, and Violations of the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act.

“This wasn’t the first time my office has worked with SOSA to apprehend child predators, and I hope they’ll continue to be available to assist with our child predator program in the future,” West said. The Sheriff’s Office is also part of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

ICAC is a national network of 61 coordinated task forces representing over 4,500 federal, state and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies.

On Friday, Investigators with the same law enforcement division said they arrested 55-year-old Michael Lunday–an Oklahoma City based attorney–for Lewd Acts with a Child Under 12 and Soliciting Child Prostitution. He was transported to the Canadian County Detention Facility, and his bond was set at two hundred thousand dollars. Lunday also drove to Mustang, Oklahoma in order to have sex with a fictitious fiveyear- old girl.

West said Lunday was caught after a confidential informant advised investigators that Lunday had requested her to arrange for him to meet a child for sex. The informant helped investigators carry out a sting operation Thursday afternoon, where Lunday communicated with the CI through text and phone calls.

“Lunday told the CI that he would bring condoms and lubrication to facilitate sexual intercourse. Lunday agreed to meet the CI at a residence in Mustang in order to finalize the details prior to the purchase of the child for sex,” West said. Hidden cameras were used in the residence with deputies staged inside for the impending arrest “During the conversation, Lunday told the CI he liked younger girls because sexual abuse does not affect them as much,” West said. “Lunday also wanted to watch child pornography before the child arrived in order to warm himself up and settle his nerves. While in the CI’s house, Lunday took Viagra to prepare himself for the encounter with the fiveyear- old girl, and he told the CI he had fantasized about performing oral sex on a female child, with an adult female watching.”

West said the CI was able to maintain her composure and was instrumental in the success of the investigation and sting operation that helped them cuff the attorney. Based on Lunday’s admissions to the CI regarding viewing child pornography, a search warrant was obtained and executed on the attorney’s residence Friday.

“They seized a number of electronic devices, including an Ipad, laptop computers and his personal cell phone,” West said.

“Lunday was taken into custody at the CI’s residence on Thursday after $400.00 was exchanged with the CI to be split between the CI and a fictitious foster parent providing the child.”

West said investigators also found a receipt in the CI’s kitchen showing that Lunday had stopped and purchased condoms and lubrication to be used during sex with the fictitious fiveyear- old.