FORT PAYNE, Ala. – On Saturday, December 14th, 2024 the Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Unit conducted an undercover operation which resulted in the arrest of eight subjects for the charge of Traveling to Meet a Child for an Unlawful Sex Act (13A-6-142), a Class A Felony.
In order to protect the integrity of the investigation, specific details will not be made available at this time. The following are details that we are able to share:
- Each subject charged was fully aware beforehand that they were meeting a child under the age of 16 with the expectation of sexual contact, performance, sodomy or intercourse.
- Some of the subjects came armed with knives or firearms.3
- The operation was conducted in a manner that contained and isolated any threat to the public.
- Seven vehicles, over $2000 in cash, one firearm, and multiple other weapons were seized by Investigators during the course of the operation.
According to data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 1 in 6 missing children are victims of child sex trafficking. This adds up to thousands of children per year across the United States.
Below is a list of all subjects arrested during the operation:
JOSE GONZALEZ- 55 of Scottsboro, AL
JUAN MIGUEL CASTILLO- 44 of Fort Payne, AL
JONATHAN HOLMES GOLDEN- 40 of Somerville, AL
JUVAH TERTIUS WILLIAMS- 29 of Gadsden, AL
REID EDGAR SIMMONS- 64 of Ohatchee, AL
PASCUAL MATEO-DIEGO- 28 of Fort Payne, AL
AUSTIN LEE BATTLES- 29 of Attalla, AL
CASEY LYNN MCCORMICK- 35 of Boaz, AL
DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden said of the incident: “This should really open peoples’ eyes to what is lurking right here in our very own county. (Evil monsters) Child trafficking and child sex crimes have been on the rise across the entire county in the last few years. It’s a crime that’s hard to spot, hard to work and hard to convict on.”
“The best way to fight it and keep it away from our children and our community is to start hunting it down! This is exactly what our Investigation Unit did, and I am proud of their willingness to put in all their energy to better protect ALL our families and OUR FUTURE!”
“God Bless!” Concluded Sheriff Welden.
