WOODBINE, Ga. – The Camden County Sheriff’s Office, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the St. Marys and Savannah Police Departments concluded a joint Internet Crimes Against Children sting with the arrest of four men -- three of them from Camden County.
The agencies said the operation conducted from Thursday to Sunday had the men believing they were communicating online with a 14-year-old girl, and they arranged to meet “her,” but were met by officers instead.
“All of the men arrested made their intentions clear despite being warned about the age the child,” said Capt. Larry Bruce of the Camden County Sheriff’s Office. “These individuals that were arrested came to Camden County to make physical contact with what they thought was a 14-year-old child.”
Those arrested and the charges against them are:
- Charles (Chuck) Brazell, 50, of Kingsland - criminal attempt to commit aggravated child molestation
- Justin Chovanec, 36, of St. Marys - criminal attempt to commit child molestation
- Andrew Lowe, 23, of St. Marys - criminal attempt to commit aggravated child molestation
- Akash Kesari, 32, of Savannah - criminal attempt to commit child molestation
“As a result of law enforcement agencies working together, four people whose intentions were to prey upon the children of this community were arrested,” Camden County Sheriff Jim Proctor said in a statement.
Lowe is a convicted sex offender who was arrested during a similar sting operation in 2016.
Detectives said Kesari told them that he worked with children with autism and children with special needs. A company that provides services to children with special needs told News4Jax that it fired him in February. The company would not say why, although it said he also worked with two other similar companies.