Following a child pornography investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies, 28 children were rescued and more than 80 criminal charges have been filed against 59 arrested adults, including Texas school teachers and firefighters.
Operation Janus, a month-long operation aimed at rescuing children across North Texas who are victims of online sexual exploitation, began on January 16 and concluded on February 17; charges were filed from January 16 through February 10.
The operation was a combined effort from more than three dozen North Texas-based law enforcement agencies, as well as one Alaska-based agency for the single arrest that took place in Alaska.
Some of the agencies included in the North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children task force, which conducted the operation, were multiple divisions of the FBI, police departments, county district attorneys, Homeland Security investigators, and Texas Rangers.
FBI Dallas Acting Special Agent in Charge James J. Dwyer said the operation was conducted to protect children:
The FBI is committed to doing everything in our power to protect the most innocent amongst us, our children. We’re able to achieve this through our law enforcement partnerships at the federal, state, and local level. We work together every day to identify and apprehend online predators targeting children. Operation Janus allowed us to collectively support each other by sharing resources and intelligence to catch predators in the act. It also allowed us to recover children and protect them from further harm.
The list of alleged crimes ranges from possession, promotion, receiving, and distributing of child pornography to sexual assault of a child, indecency with a child, indecent assault, and bestiality.
“The innocence of children must be protected at all costs,” said Chief Ed Drain of the Plano Police Department. “I am proud of the work we do to collectively bring to justice those who seek to harm our children through online means and for the rescue of these children from future abuse as we work to bring safety, healing, and justice to these victims and their families.”
— Plano Police (Texas) (@PlanoPoliceDept) February 17, 2023
Among those arrested were paramedics, firefighters, teachers, and at least one nurse. Some of the victims targeted were as young as infants.
One of the teachers arrested was Brandon Froning, a 31-year-old teacher at Parish Episcopal’s Lower School in Dallas, where he had been teaching elementary students since 2021.
Following his arrest, Froning was suspended and will remain suspended until the investigation is concluded. Froning’s teaching license remains valid on the Texas State Board for Educator Certification database.
“To our knowledge, these charges are solely related to online misconduct and do not involve any current or former Parish students,” the school stated in a letter to parents.
The school also claimed to have conducted multiple reference and background checks on Froning, during which no red flags were revealed.
Michael A. Newhouse Jr., one of the other suspects arrested, was a substitute teacher in McKinney ISD.
“The people charged as a result of this operation preyed on some of our most vulnerable: our children. I applaud the dedication of these task force groups, including members of the Dallas Police Department, to bring these suspects to justice. We will never stop working to identify, locate, and apprehend these predators to make our community safer for our children,” said Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia.
Investigators seized multiple terabytes of data and electronic devices used in the crimes. Analyzing the data will likely lead to more charges and arrests.
The following is the public list of those formally charged in the operation so far. According to the Dallas Police Department, some individuals are currently in custody, but charges are pending. Additional names and charges are yet to be released.
Mickail Dukes – Manifestation of Prostitution, Dallas PD
Brandon Froning, Teacher at Parish Episcopal Lower School Dallas – Possession of Child Pornography, Dallas PD
Justin Peters – Possession of Child Pornography, Garland PD
Noah Craver – Possession of Child Pornography, Plano PD
Vincent Hammack – Possession of Child Pornography, Plano PD
Joshua Drake – Possession of Child Pornography, Wylie PD
Michael A. Newhouse Jr., Substitute Teacher for McKinney ISD – Possession of Child Pornography, Possession of Lewd Visual Material, Texas DPS
Michael W. Newhouse Sr. – Possession of Child Pornography, Texas DPS
Michael Sinnreich – Possession of Child Pornography, Wylie PD
Ernest Martinez – Possession of Child Pornography, Abilene PD
Isaac Hernandez – Possession of Child Pornography, Irving PD
Marcus Lugo – Possession of Child Pornography, Abilene PD
Juan Juarez – Promotion of Child Pornography, Wylie PD
Jesse McFall, Dallas Fire and Rescue – Possession of Child Pornography, Dallas PD/Denton PD
Eduardo Ramirez – Receiving/Possession of Child Pornography, Plano PD
Jesse Giesbrecht – Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office/FBI
Ubaydah Fadel – Possession of Child Pornography, Plano PD
Ivan Hernandez – Sexual Assault of a Child, Dallas PD
Ralph Brooks Brown – Possession of Child Pornography, Plano PD
Anthony Johnson – Possession with Intent to Promote with Prior Conviction, Dallas PD
Nathan Abramovich – Possession of Child Pornography, Wylie PD
JUVENILE – Possession of Child Pornography, Wylie PD
Corey Smith Shaw – Possession of Child Pornography, Plano PD
Nathanel Black – Possession of Child Pornography, Irving PD
Steve Martin – Possession of Child Pornography, Plano PD
Tracey Couey – Possession of Child Pornography, Dallas PD
Ramiro Mendoza Lara – Possession of Child Pornography, Irving PD
Charles Stanfiel – Possession of Child Pornography, Abilene PD
Edward Rodriquez – Online Solicitation of a Minor, Abilene PD
JUVENILE – Possession of Child Pornography with Intent to Promote, Wylie PD
Shemar Green – Possession of Child Pornography and Transportation of Child Pornography, FBI-Lubbock/Snyder PD
Cassidy Lush – Distribution of Child Pornography, FBI-Lubbock
David Espinoza – Possession of Child Pornography, FBI-Lubbock
Jonathan Paige – Kidnapping/Sex Assault of a Child, Plano PD
Christopher Berger – Promotion of Child Pornography, Dallas PD
Justin Wyly – Possession of Child Pornography Hopkins, County SO
James Wilborn – Indecency with a Child, Dallas PD
Thomas Dobbs – Possession of Child Pornography, Abilene PD
Craig Schamberger – Online Solicitation, Fort Worth PD
Jason Till – Production of Child Pornography, Homeland Security Investigations
Pipino Alfredo Castelan Diaz – Solicitation of Prostitution of a Minor
Irving Woods – Online Solicitation, Fort Worth PD/Alaska State Troopers/US Secret Service
Demon Driver – Possession of Child Pornography, Dallas PD
Joseph Sterle – Possession of Child Pornography, DPS-Texarkana
Stephen Benzenhafer – Online Solicitation of a Minor, Plano PD
Silvestre Diaz – Indecent Assault, Wylie PD
Juan Blaylock – Possession of Child Pornography, Dallas PD
Maximillian Arya – Possession of Child Pornography, Dallas PD
JUVENILE – Bestiality, Garland PD
JUVENILE – Publish Intimate Visual Material, Wylie PD
Gary Mathis – Promotion of Child Pornography, Dallas PD
Anthony Garza – Misdemeanor Charge, Lubbock PD
Haseeb Memon – Possession with Intent to Promote Child Pornography, Wylie PD
Sierra Hendry – Bestiality, Dallas PD
Rit Tran – Distribution of Child Pornography, FBI-Dallas
Javier Montano – Sex Abuse of a Child, Fort Worth PD
Keaton Truelock
Justin Jones
Steven Mayle
