Dalton, Georgia (October 7, 2025) – A four-day proactive online undercover investigation, coordinated by the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office resulted in the arrest of 11 people on numerous charges, including human trafficking charges. The operation, named “Operation H.O.O.K.” (Hands Off Our Kids), ran from October 2 through October 6, 2025.

The goal of “Operation H.O.O.K.” was to identify persons who engage in sexually explicit communication with children on the Internet, arrange to engage in a sex act with the child, and then travel to meet the child for the purpose of having sex. Additionally, the operation targeted those who are willing to exploit children by purchasing sex with a minor. Online child predators use social media sites, messaging apps, and websites on the Internet to find children, begin conversations with them, introduce sexual content, and arrange a meeting with the child for the purpose of having sex. Boys and girls are both targeted by these predators.

The following people were arrested and charged:

• Daniel Joseph Clark, age 54, of Cohutta, GA; Occupation: Truck Driver; Charged with Trafficking a Person for Sexual Servitude (OCGA 16-5-46).

• Swami Shinde, age 28, of Cleveland, TN; Occupation: Engineer; Charged with Trafficking a Person for Sexual Servitude (OCGA 16-5-46).

• Jared Malbrough, age 24, of Smyrna, GA, Occupation: Engineer; Charged with Trafficking a Person for Sexual Servitude (OCGA 16-5-46).

• Corey Huff, age 40, of Calhoun, GA, Occupation: Mill Worker; Charged with Trafficking a Person for Sexual Servitude (OCGA 16-5-46).

• Rolando Mendez-Bamaca, age 28, of Chattanooga, TN, Occupation: Landscaper; Charged with Trafficking a Person for Sexual Servitude (OCGA 16-5-46).

• Enrique Lopez, age 56, of Dalton, GA, Occupation: Factory Worker; Charged with Trafficking a Person for Sexual Servitude (OCGA 16-5-46).

• Mark Andrade, age 33, of Dalton, GA, Occupation: Factory Worker; Charged with violation of Computer or Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007 (OCGA 16-12-100.2).

• Vaughn Scarbrough, age 54, or Dandridge, TN, Occupation: Factory Worker; Charged with Criminal Attempt Trafficking a Person for Sexual Servitude (OCGA 16-4-1).

• Brandon Bolick, age 27, of Calhoun, GA, Occupation: Restaurant Worker; Charged with Criminal Attempt Trafficking a Person for Sexual Servitude (OCGA 16-4-1).

• Jonathan Monroe, age 51, of Tunnel Hill, GA, Occupation: Truck Driver; Charged with Criminal Attempt Trafficking a Person for Sexual Servitude (OCGA 16-4-1).

• Joshua Molina, age 36, of Dalton, GA, Occupation: Unemployed; Charged with violation of Computer or Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007 (OCGA 16-12-100.2).

Additional charges and arrests may follow.

“Operation H.O.O.K.” took months of planning and involved the collaboration of 14 law enforcement agencies, consisting of local, state, and federal agencies that are part of the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The arrestees, ranging in age from 24 to 56, traveled from areas around Whitfield County, Georgia, with the intent to meet a child for sex. GBI and Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office digital forensic investigators were on hand during the operation to forensically process 7 electronic devices that were seized as evidence during the operation.

During “Operation H.O.O.K.,” undercover investigators posing as children, trained by the Georgia ICAC Task Force, had numerous exchanges with persons on various social media and Internet platforms. During many of these exchanges, the subjects directed conversations with the child towards sex. Thirty-one cases were established that met the threshold for arrest. Nine of those cases were concluded with arrests after the perpetrator attempted to meet the “child” in person. In some of these cases, the subject introduced obscene or lewd content, often exposing what the perpetrator thought was a child to pornography or requesting the child to produce and send sexual or pornographic images for them. About half of the exchanges involved websites used for dating, socializing, or even websites used for classified advertisements.

Although some websites promote themselves as being for “adults only”, it is not uncommon for law enforcement to work cases in which children access these sites, establish profiles claiming to be older, and then find themselves vulnerable to victimization, harassment, blackmail, or assault. Several subjects were identified as communicating simultaneously with multiple investigators posing as minors. Such activity confirms what investigators uncover conducting these types of investigations: that many predators specifically seek out minors on the internet to groom the children as potential victims for sexual contact.

In addition to more than 38,000 child exploitation CyberTips received by the Georgia ICAC Task Force from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2025, agencies such as the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office partner during the year to proactively identify child sex predators that use the internet to manipulate children to engage in sex acts and produce Child Sexual Abuse Material.

“‘Operation Hands Off Our Kids’, illustrates the positive impact law enforcement agencies can have when they collaborate on a shared mission,” said GBI SAC Brian Johnston. “The agencies involved prioritize protecting the children of our state by identifying and arresting those that seek to sexually abuse children. These partnerships are crucial as not one agency can effectively address this problem alone.”

“‘Operation Hands Off Our Kids’ illustrates the positive impact law enforcement agencies can have when they collaborate on a shared mission,” said Sheriff Darren J. Pierce. “The agencies involved prioritize protecting the children of our state by identifying and arresting those who seek to sexually abuse children. These partnerships are crucial as not one agency can effectively address this problem alone. The safety of Children in Whitfield County is something I take personally. I promise that if you are in this county and plan to prey on a child, you will be arrested."

14 law enforcement agencies, all partners in the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children’s Task Force, participated in “Operation H.O.O.K.” These agencies were:

• Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office

• Bartow County Sheriff’s Office

• Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office

• Gordon County Sheriff’s Office

• Murray County Sheriff’s Office

• Jackson County Sheriff’s Office

• Heard County Sheriff’s Office

• Grovetown Police Department

• Cartersville Police Department

• Homeland Security Investigation

• United States Secret Service

• Federal Bureau of Investigation

• Georgia Office of Public Safety Support

• Georgia Bureau of Investigation (Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, Georgia Information and Sharing Analysis Center, West Georgia Regional Drug Enforcement Office, Georgia Cyber Crimes Center).

The Georgia ICAC Task Force is comprised of 290 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, other related criminal justice agencies, and prosecutors’ offices. The Georgia ICAC Task Force, managed by the GBI, is one of 61 such task forces in the United States. The mission of the ICAC Task Forces, created by the U.S. Department of Justice, is to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in developing an effective response to technology-facilitated child exploitation. This support encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, prevention, and community education. The ICAC Program was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the Internet, the proliferation of child sexual abuse material, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims. By helping state and local law enforcement agencies develop effective and sustainable responses to online child victimization and child sexual abuse material, the ICAC program delivers national resources at the local level. Any Georgia law enforcement agency wishing to join the GA ICAC Task Force is encouraged to contact the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit.

Anyone with information about these cases or other cases of child exploitation is asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit at 404-270-8870 or report via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.

Contact

Special Agent in Charge Brian Johnston

[email protected]