(Radio Iowa) – Four northeast Iowa men are charged following an undercover sting that targeted online sexual predators. Dubbed Operation Castle, Manchester Police Chief Ben Davis says one of his officers portrayed a 15-year-old boy on a variety of social media platforms, using both public and dark web applications.  “Initially when we started, we used the very popular platforms, but as the operation evolved, we uncovered darker sides of the internet, things that we didn’t even know existed, and we used those as well,” Chief Davis says. “If we learned about a new application or a new website, we would create a profile on those websites to try to maximize the outcome.”

The undercover officer was specially trained during a law enforcement program in September on how to properly carry out the sting, and upon returning to Manchester, already had dozens of potential suspects. Davis says they followed all policies to the letter, being careful not to entrap a suspect. “We can’t click on a profile and send the first message. We can’t suggest sexual activity. We can’t even suggest meetups,” the chief says. “The officer is trained to just go with the flow based on the conversation. This is all just perpetuated on the suspect’s behalf on what they want, and the officer just communicates as much as they can to try to build that rapport and get them to meet.” Davis says the four suspects suggested sexual activity under their own accord, sent unsolicited nude photos, and suggested discreet meetings. The chief says he was stunned by the depth of the problem.

“It was an eye-opening moment when an officer shows me the amount of potential suspects within a very short amount of time,” he says. “We had people reach out from not only the local area, but we had targets that were from Texas, Georgia, actively looking for ways to come up to meet the undercover officer.” Manchester police arrested the four suspects on grooming, enticing and other charges: 56-year-old William Bockenstedt of New Vienna, 38-year-old Craig Conrad of Epworth, 41-year-old Seth Chambers of Dubuque, and 32-year-old Alex LaFrenz of New Hampton. Several other cases are pending.

Chief Davis says it’s important for the community to be informed about the dangers lurking on the internet. His department will host a Cyber Safety Parent Night on December 3rd at 5:30 P-M in the West Delaware High School auditorium.