ISABELLA COUNTY, Mich. – Seven Michigan man have been arrested for trying to meet up with young boys and girls for sex, according to police.
Members of an Isabella County Sheriff’s Office task force communicated with several possible child predators on social media apps, officials said.
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The suspected predators agreed to meet at a location to have sex with underage children, police said. When they got to the location, they were taken into custody, according to authorities.
Five men were arrested at the location, and two others fled in vehicles before police could make contact, officials said. Both men were eventually stopped and taken into custody.
Charges are being reviewed for two additional men in connection with the operation, police said.
Seven men have been charged with accosting children for immoral purposes and using a computer to commit a crime:
- Zachary Bell, 25, of Mount Pleasant
- Cody Bunner, 22, of Mount Pleasant
- Andrew Cousar, 29, of Grand Rapids
- John Guernsey, 50, of Chippewa Township
- Brent Hulien, 34, of Standish
- William Machuta, 32, of Mount Pleasant
- Dwayne Overton, 21, of Union Township
Cousar is also charged with fleeing and eluding and failure to report.
The FBI, Michigan State Police, Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police, the Mount Pleasant City Police Department, Central Michigan University police, the Shepherd Police Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Isabella County Central Dispatch helped with the operation.