The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office and the Sulphur Springs Police Department have been affiliated with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for the past year. Wednesday morning, after yet another arrest for online solicitation of a minor, Sheriff’s Chief Criminal Investigator Lewis Tatum shared some stats compiled over the past year.
According to Lewis, Hopkins County Sheriff’s office has 12 arrests with 51 cases as of the most recent arrest on Tuesday, March 17. This include both online solicitation and child pornography. He said the Sulphur Springs Police Department has seven (7) arrests which are all online solicitation. Total for the county and city is 19 arrests and 51 cases.
Lewis said there are two officers from the county office and one officer with the city police department that are accredited in performing the tasks necessary to make the arrests. These officers are monitoring the local area for solicitation and child porn. These numbers are reported to ICAC.
Lewis said he does not understand why perpetrators from the metroplex seek to contact minors for sex in the area. He added that Hopkins County and Sulphur Springs are not alone and that other surrounding counties are also encountering the same issue.
