Twenty-two men have been indicted on various sex-related charges after authorities say they came to Franklin County to engage in sexual conduct with minors.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien announced the grand jury's indictments Friday.
“These 22 men all traveled to a specific location in Franklin County to engage in inappropriate sexual conduct with what they thought were children they believed to be between 12 and 15 years old,” O’Brien said.
Between September 10-12, the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force engaged in an undercover operation to identify people who were attempting to solicit and engage in sexual activity with children.
“Once again these cases illustrate the importance of continued collaborative work across our county and state in order to protect one of our most defenseless victims, our children. Preying upon children in our county will not be tolerated,” O’Brien said.
The charges against the men include attempted rape, importuning, attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and promoting prostitution.
Those indicted are as follows:
- Neil Umesh Patel/Methuen, MA
- Christian Mark Gibson/Columbus
- Scott William Fierro/Marysville
- Mark Wyatt Fitzgerald II/Portsmouth
- Joshua Randall Love/Columbus
- Christian Othello Bryant/Columbus
- Steven Michael Wilson/Columbus
- John Shimizu/Dublin
- David James Bond/Columbus
- Brian Joseph Basil/Grove City
- Cody Michael Conn/Columbus
- Steven Daniel Barcus/Westerville
- Timothy Wayne Coffey/Columbus
- James Matthew Good/Marysville
- Jonas Micah Wernick/Upper Arlington
- Steven Gregory Weakley/Grove City
- Jose Alberto Montoyvanegas/Columbus
- Cesar Ivan Lopez/Galloway
- Kim Jay Alex/Dublin
- Rick Alan Birman/Columbus
- Logan Lee Detty/Chillicothe
- Marcus Ronaldon Banks/Arlington, TN
Three others arrested in the sting are not including in Friday’s indictment because of additional investigations being conducted in those cases, according to O’Brien.
