MARQUETTE, MI-- Five men from three counties were arrested in a multi-agency sting operation last week to combat the sexual exploitation of children.
They are:
- Robert Jay Miller, 42, of Negaunee
- Ameire Rackem Stevens, 48, of Skandia
- Alan Brian Schwalbach, 64, of Vulcan
- Keith David Johnson, 50, of AuTrain
- Chad Michael Anderson, 32, of Gwinn
Each suspect is charged with the following:
- Child sexually abusive activity
- Use of a computer to commit child sexually abusive activity
- Accosting a child for immoral purposes
- Use of a computer to commit accosting a child for immoral purposes
Stephanie Krieger is president of the Upper Peninsula Human Trafficking Task Force. She reached out to Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson to get his office’s expertise on combatting human trafficking.
“There are no boundaries. They’re all of our kids, and what happens downstate generally comes upstate,” she said.
A number of law enforcement agencies came together to execute the operation last Thursday.
Krieger noted the COVID-19 pandemic has only increased the potential for child trafficking, since so many kids are online for long stretches of time every day.
“The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, in fact, stated that since the pandemic they have seen a 106 percent increase in child exploitation online.”
Marquette County Prosecutor Matt Wiese advised parents to check what their kids are doing online, just as they want to know what their kids do outside the home.
Law enforcement agencies involved were the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office, the Marquette Police Department, the Michigan State Police, The Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team (UPSET), and the Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team (GHOST).
