Underage sex sting nets 12 arrests

Sheriff David Shoar announces results of Operation End of the Road

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A multi-county effort to crack down on sex crimes against children netted 12 arrests in St. Johns County, including a 21-year-old Daytona Beach student.

The 12 men arrested as part of the seven-day Operation End of the Road ranged in age from 21 to 60 years old, Sheriff David Shoar said. The sting took place from March 30 to April 6.

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He said one suspect brought prescription drugs with him, apparently to calm the would-be victim. Another showed up in a military uniform and a third had a college basketball scholarship, Shoar said.

The men are facing a variety of charges from traveling to meet a minor for sex to using a computer to using a computer to lure a child for sex.

“You get this cast of characters and why they keep doing this, I don't know,” Shoar said. “If we can deter just one or two people (by publicizing these arrests), I think it's vitally important.”

Shoar said the men were expecting to meet minors who ranged in age from 12 to 16 years old and included both boys and girls. Instead they were met with undercover detectives, who had been posing as juveniles online to arrange to meet the suspects at an undercover house in the western part of St. Johns County.

The men arrested, including their ages, cities of residence and charges, are listed below:

  • Lee Mark Davis, 22, St. Augustine, traveling to meet a minor for sex, using a two-way device to facilitate a felony
  • Oscar Aster Cabrera-Adames, 21, Daytona Beach, traveling to meet a minor for sex, using a two-way device to facilitate a felony
  • Travon Carnell White-Thomas, 22, St. Augustine, using a computer to lure a child for sex, traveling to meet a minor for sex, using a two-way device to facilitate a felony
  • Corey Richard Sinnott, 31, St. Augustine, using a computer to lure a child for sex, traveling to meet a minor for sex, using a two-way device to facilitate a felony
  • Keaton Richard Cernin, 25, St. Augustine, using a computer to lure a child for sex, traveling to meet a minor for sex, transmitting info harmful to minors, using a two-way device to facilitate a felony
  • Jeremy Lee Hughes, 41, Brunswick, Georgia, using a computer to lure a child for sex, traveling to meet a minor for sex, using a two-way device to facilitate a felony
  • Adam Tucker Driggers, 31, Palm Coast, traveling to meet a minor for sex, using a two-way device to facilitate a felony
  • James Willard Goodwin, 60, St. Augustine, traveling to meet a minor for sex, using a two-way device to facilitate a felony
  • Matthew Bryan Caniff, 32, Gainesville, using a computer to lure a child for sex, traveling to meet a minor for sex, promoting sexual performance of a child, using a two-way device to facilitate a felony, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription
  • Charles Arthur Thompson, 35, St. Augustine, using a computer to lure a child for sex, traveling to meet a minor for sex, using a two-way device to facilitate a felony
  • Kevin Michael Philippi, St. Augustine, using a computer to lure a child for sex, traveling to meet a minor for sex, using a two-way device to facilitate a felony
  • David Lawrence Kausch III, 25, St. Augustine, using a computer to lure a child for sex, traveling to meet a minor for sex, using a two-way device to facilitate a felony

Caniff, who is facing the additional drug charge, is a pharmacy tech, deputies said. He was released after posting $58,000 bond.

White-Thomas, a sailor, was released after posting $55,000 bond, Cabrera-Adames, a student, was released after posting $30,000 bond, and Davis, a security engineer, was released after posting $150,000 bond.

Driggers was released after posting $25,000 bond.

Hughes, a driver for Uber, is being held on $80,000 bond, deputies said.

Sinnott ($75,000), Cernin ($110,000), Goodwin ($30,000), Thompson ($100,000), Philippi ($75,000) and Kausch ($55,000) were all being held on bond Tuesday afternoon.

Shoar was joined for the announcement by St. Augustine Police Department Chief Loran Lueders and Assistant Chief Barry Fox, and chief prosecutor Chris France of the State Attorney's Office.

He said it was the third such effort in St. Johns County through the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which combines the efforts of multiple agencies, including the FBI; FDLE; State Attorney's Office; the Sheriff's Offices of St. Johns, Volusia, Clay, Alachua and Nassau counties; the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office; and the police departments of St. Augustine, Orange Park and Gainesville.


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