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The arrests occurred in Hartford County on Friday, April 19, at an undisclosed hotel in Hartford.
According to Lt. Aaron Boisvert of the Hartford Police, the Special Investigations Division conducted an undercover sting operation to target and combat child exploitation.
The operation was located at an undisclosed hotel within the City of Hartford. Undercover law enforcement personnel assumed the identity of a 15-year-old girl’s aunt on the internet and engaged in dialogue with the suspects, Boisvert said.
Boisvert said during the online discussions, the men reached agreements to engage in monetary transactions in exchange for sexual relations with the underage girl.
The men verified their arrival at the location and were then provided a specific room number by detectives. The targets responded to the hotel room and were greeted by an undercover detective posing as a juvenile, Bosivert said.
The targets were then quickly placed into custody by an arrest team.
Four separate offenders were taken into custody during the operation. The men were charged with:
- Criminal attempt, illegal sexual contact with a minor under 16
- Criminal attempt/sexual assault
- Criminal attempt/commercial sexual abuse of a minor.
Arrested included:
- Jonathan Almonte, age 32, of Hartford
- Aqib Bakawala, age 32, of Manchester
- Angel Rodriguez, age 29, of East Haven
- Michael Huang, age 35, of New York City
The Major Crimes Division, Southeast and Northeast Community Service officers, and the FBI Crimes Against Children/Human Trafficking Task Force assisted in the operation.
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