YORK COUNTY, SC – The York County Sheriff’s Office said ten potential child sexual predators were arrested and charged in an online child exploitation investigation called “Operation Alone at Home.”
The men are accused of trying to find girls as young as ten for sex. All were arrested last month during a four-day police operation that involved up to forty police officers from more than a dozen different agencies.
The operation took place in several locations, including an undisclosed home.
According to the deputies, the investigators created online profiles on various social media platforms posing as girls. The deputies said the men arrested in the seizure sought profiles thinking they were talking to girls as young as 10 years old.
York County sheriff Kevin Tolson said the Internet is a big place and it’s a big job for parents to always be aware of who their kids are talking to.
“There are so many cracks and dark holes that people have time with sick minds to walk around,” said Tolson. “These predators are out there and are expecting their children, or someone else’s child.”
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At least three of the suspects – Walter Witherspoon, Nilesh Aleti and Joseph Varalli – have offered money to have sex with children and are accused of promoting prostitution, according to arrest warrants. Others sent nude photos and also asked for nude photos.
MPs said Jose Garcia-Arellano drove nearly four hours from Goldsboro to find who he thought was a 13-year-old girl at Fort Mill.
Federal agents said Michael Worley just got out of federal prison. His house arrest ended on March 1. They said he started asking a child for sex on March 10 and also drove from Canton to York County.
“We want our communities to be secure, we want our Internet to be secure,” said Tolson. “If these suspects had not been identified and arrested talking to a police officer, they would probably be talking to a living child victim.”
According to Tolson, operations aimed at online predators aim to protect children and they will continue to execute them.
“The message we need to communicate to parents in our community is that it is extremely important to know what your children are doing on their phones,” said Tolson. “Find out what your kids’ passwords are, know what apps they’re using, and check them every now and then to see who they’re talking to in chat rooms or text messages.
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The operation was a joint effort between several law enforcement agencies in Carolinas, which includes the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, US Secret Service, York Police Department, Rock Hill Police Department, Fort Mill Police Department, Mount Pleasant Police Department, Charleston Police Department, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, Marion County Sheriff’s Office and County Sheriff’s Office from Orangeburg.
During a similar investigation in November 2019, MPs said 15 arrests were made.
The list of prisoners is as follows:
1 David Medina Osorio
- AGE: 34
- Williow Wood Lane, Rock Hill, SC
- OCCUPATION: Unemployed
- LOAD (S): Criminal Sexual Conduct with a 2nd Minor Degree, Criminal Request from a Minor
two Donald Dewaine Dorsey
- AGE: 42
- Possum Hollow Road, Indian Land, SC
- OCCUPATION: Unemployed
- LOAD (S): Criminal Sexual Conduct with a 2nd Minor Degree, Criminal Request from a Minor
3 José Jesús Garcia-Arellano
- AGE: 25
- Goldsboro, NC
- OCCUPATION: Unemployed
- COLLECTION (S): Sexual exploitation of minors of the 1st degree, criminal sexual conduct with minors of the 2nd degree, criminal solicitation of minors (X2), disclosure of obscene material for minors under 18
4 Joseph Scott Varalli
- AGE: 30
- York, SC
- OCCUPATION: Unemployed
- CHARGE (S): Criminal Sexual Conduct with Minors of 2nd Degree, Promotion of Prostitution of Minors
5 Keith Alan Gray
- AGE: 44
- China Grove, NC
- OCCUPATION: Unknown
- RATE (S): Criminal solicitation of a minor, Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor – Victim under 11 years of first degree, Sexual exploitation of a minor degree.
6 Michael John Worley
- AGE: 48
- Canton, NC
- OCCUPATION: Construction
- CHARGE (S): Criminal Criminal Conduct with 2 Minor Degree
- ADDITIONAL: North Carolina registered sex offender. He was just released from federal prison in November 2020. Out of house arrest, March 1, 2021.
7 Scott Robert Pless
- AGE: 52
- Rock Hill, SC
- OCCUPATION: Body mechanic
- LOAD (S): Criminal Request for Minors.
8 Walter Glenn Witherspoon
- AGE: 41
- Le Grange, NC
- OCCUPATION: Truck Driver
- CHARGE (S): Criminal Sexual Conduct with Minors of 2nd Degree, Promotion of Prostitution of Minors
9 Dennis James Hastings
- AGE: 60
- Chester, SC
- OCCUPATION: Driver
- RATE (S): Sexual Exploitation of Minors of 1st Degree
10 Nilesh Karthikeya Aleti
- AGE: 29
- Charlotte, NC
- OCCUPATION: Independent software company
- CHARGE (S): Promotion of Child Prostitution