JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. — A month-long investigation by the Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team, or SOCET, has led to multiple arrests.
SOCET is a joint interagency task force that started back in June of 2020. Its goal is to combat child exploitation and human trafficking.
In this case, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office says undercover law enforcement officers posed as minors online. The operation led to the arrests of 33-year-old Steven Eugene Fitzgerald Buckner, who traveled from Tiger to Jackson County, 29-year-old Gabriel Julian Harrison-Swinden from White City, 57-year-old Kelly Patrick Ramsey of Central Point, and 25-year-old Cayden James Vasquez of Medford. Harrison-Swinden and Ramsey are facing multiple charges including luring a minor.
Steve Bohn with SOCET says investigators have reason to believe these men have victimized other children.
During the operation, we were able to arrest several individuals. Some of those individuals, we believe have a lot of victims that they victimized other than them coming to meet with an undercover officer to have sexual contact with a minor. We found evidence that they were possibly victimizing other children in our community.
Bohn says that if you believe your child has been victimized to halt all communication with a suspected individual but make sure not to delete any communications and to contact your local law enforcement.
The Family Nurturing Center has some tips for parents to help better protect their children. You can learn more at http://familynurturingcenter.org.
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