Operation Milkshake leads to 14 arrests and charges of criminal contact with a minor

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — Mount Pleasant police said 14 men were arrested Tuesday after officers posed as children online.

Operation Milkshake began in May 2024. The arrest came after months of investigation and ongoing online conversations with undercover detectives from the Pleasant Police Department, said Police Chief Mark Arnold.

“It was a very successful operation,” said Kevin Atkins, commander of Internet Crimes Against Children.

All 14 men are charged with criminal enticement of a minor. Some face additional charges, including attempted sexual contact with a minor and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor.

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Some of the arrested men traveled to Mount Pleasant to meet with people they believed were 12 to 14 years old, but instead found officers waiting for them.

“We arrest all sorts of things and we’re not very tolerant of it,” Atkins said. “We don’t look the other way. So we don’t care what your profession is or what your job title is. If you commit these acts, we’re going to find you — and we’re going to arrest you.”

Arnold said Operation Milkshake was a collaborative effort. Four local county sheriff’s offices, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Homeland Security, the Secret Service, the U.S. Marshall’s Office and the Mount Pleasant Police Department all worked together to put these men behind bars.

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Commander Atkins said covert operations like this are vital to keeping the community safe.

“If they’re not talking to us, they’re talking to your children,” Atkins said. “A lot of times when we arrest these individuals, we find out there’s other victims involved. And that’s always what we try to do: identify other victims.”

Authorities say having open and honest conversations with your child may be the best way to find out who he or she is communicating with and whether adults have tried to contact him or her online.

The full list of those arrested:

1. Edward O Connell: Two counts of criminal enticement of a minor, one count of attempted second-degree sexual contact with a minor, one count of attempted first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor
2. Darwin Ramon Benitez Mendez: Two counts of criminal enticement of a minor, one count of attempted second-degree sexual contact with a minor, one count of attempted distribution of obscene material to a minor under 18, one count of attempted first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor
3. Shorn Demetrius Johnson: Attempted second-degree sexual contact with a minor, criminal sexual assault of a minor, attempted distribution of obscene material to a minor under 18
4. Zachary Redmon Scott: Criminal Assault of a Minor, Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in the First Degree
5. Robert Lincoln Powell III: Criminal Assault of a Minor
6. James Howell: Criminal enticement of a minor, attempted distribution of obscene material to a minor under 18, attempted sexual exploitation of a minor in the first degree
7. Randolph Clarke: Two counts of criminal contact with a minor
8. Simon Adam Morris: Three counts of criminal enticement of a minor, one count of attempted second-degree sexual contact with a minor
9. Stephen Joseph Hartfield: Four counts of criminal enticement of a minor, one count of attempted second-degree sexual contact with a minor
10. Juan Felipe Orosio Trujillo: Attempted sexual contact in the second degree with a minor, attempted sexual exploitation in the first degree of a minor, attempted distribution of obscene material to a minor under 18, criminal assault of a minor
11. Jose Arturo Herrera Mondragon: Criminal assault of a minor, attempted sexual contact in the second degree with a minor
12. Quinn Patrick Tata: Criminal assault of a minor, attempted sexual contact in the second degree with a minor
13. Lanard Kenneth Magwood: Criminal enticement of a minor, two counts of attempted second-degree sexual contact with a minor
14. Jeremy Foster Williams: Criminal Indecent Assault of a Minor, Attempted Second Degree Sexual Contact with a Minor