Telugu Man Held in US Decoy Operation Phantom Whisper
Sudhakar among 12 arrested in Georgia’s Operation Phantom Whisper targeting predators
Hyderabad: A Telugu-origin man was arrested by the United States’ Cherokee County sheriff’s department for attempting to engage in sexual activity with a minor. Gogireddy Sudhakar, 34, along with 11 other men, were arrested by the Cherokee County police, which led a wide-ranging investigation under “Operation Phantom Whisper”.
Sudhakar, who was living in Alpharetta, Georgia, was caught by the Cherokee County police for attempting to contact a minor girl online to exploit the child. The police orchestrated a decoy operation to catch pedophiles attempting to engage in sexual activities with children. They posed as minor girls online and arranged meetings with people who engaged with them with sexual motives. After persuading them to meet, officials arrested them.
Under Operation Phantom Whisper, which was jointly investigated by the Cherokee County sheriff's office, homeland security investigations of Atlanta, Gwinnett County police, Cobb County sheriff’s office, Grovetown police department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Along with Sudhakar, authorities arrested Niyell McKindley, Jonathan Wayne Brian Brackett, Daylon Emil Figueroa, Jonathan Torres Nunez, Nicholas Ryan Robinson, Steven A. Davis, Kenneth Soto-Jaimes, Jose Fernando Salgado, Michael Vang, Timothy Morice Drawdy and Hunter William Bowman-Daniel, from different areas in the United States.
Sudhakar was charged with trafficking a person for sexual servitude, using a computer to entice a child for an illegal act and a felony criminal attempt. He was kept under immigration hold after arrest.
