A Germantown man is among five men arrested by Howard County Police Department during a multi-day undercover child exploitation operation aimed at identifying people seeking to sexually exploit children.
Police said each suspect communicated with undercover officers through various online apps before arranging to meet fictional juveniles at an undisclosed location in Columbia for sexual activity.
Among those arrested was 34-year-old Santos Alexi Andrade Maltez of Germantown. The other suspects identified by police were Andrew Scott Kraemer, 35, of Pasadena; Logan Proctor Ehren, 32, of Ft. Meade; William Rodney Moser, 29, of Rocky Ridge; and Madus R. Wijesuriya Arachchige Don, 29, of Frederick.
According to police, all five suspects were arrested onsite and charged with sexual solicitation of a minor. Officials said additional information about the covert operation could not be released at this time.
Howard County Police said the goal of the operation was to proactively target individuals seeking to harm children and send a message that this type of activity will not be tolerated in the county.
