ALBANY, GA -
Two men from Adel were among those arrested in the operation in Florida. More than 40 local, State, and federal officers took part in the operation last week in Gainesville. Child advocates in south Georgia say parents need to understand predators are out there looking for young victims.
The two Adel men were arrested at the same Gainesville, Florida gas station last week on back to back days. Investigators say they went there expecting to have sex with 11 and 13 year girls.
In 'Operation Tail Feather,' on February 1st, 34-year-old Timothy Hiers of Adel was arrested at a gas station about 9:45pm. He's a truck driver, and the day before he arranged over the Internet to meet who he thought was a 13-year-old girl for sex.
Instead he was communicating with a Sheriff's Detective, and said he was worried he would get locked up for 20 years.
Some of the 21 men arrested in Operation Tail Feather were lured to homes thinking they would meet teenage girls, but law enforcement officers met them forcefully. South Georgia officers say operations like this are needed.
"There are numerous predators constantly on the lookout for children on the Internet. Looking to exploit them. And have sex with them," said Dougherty County Police Captain Jimmy Sexton.
On February 2nd 65 year old Robert Ziolkowski of Adel was arrested at the same Gainesville gas station. Over the Internet he thought he was arranging for sex with an 11-year-old girl arranged by her father. In his pocket, two condoms.
He was the oldest of the men arrested in the week-long sting operation. Child advocates say this should be a warning to all parents.
Lily Pad Child Advocacy Center Regional Director Amy Boney said "Children are targeted daily via their cell phones, their Facebook accounts, their newspaper accounts, their Myspace accounts. It's really if your child is involved in the digital world at all, they are open to sexual predators."
Florida prosecutors say the two Adel men could face 15 years in prison for the charges they face, but federal prosecutors say they could be upgraded to federal charges, which would double their time behind bars if convicted.
Officials in Florida said they could have arrested hundreds of predators if they had the resources. Even after a news conference announcing the arrests, another man contacted law enforcement and was arrested by officers.
Ziolkowski is being held in the Alachua County Jail on two million dollars bond. Hiers is in jail with a $40,000 bond.
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