Five St. Louis men were arrested last week following a two-day human trafficking enforcement operation conducted by the Illinois State Police in Columbia.

Deepak Chiluveru, 24; Tuan M. Huynh, 34; Leslie M. Johnson, 56; Kawa M. Shaker, 26; and Roberto Rodriquez-Cordero, 36; were each charged with indecent solicitation of a child, traveling to meet a child, grooming and solicitation to meet a child.

The first two charges are Class 3 felonies and the latter two are Class 4 felonies.

Court records indicate the men, using electronic communication, sought to engage in aggravated sexual abuse – unlawful sexual activity with an individual thought to be under the age of 17

Additionally, Huyhn was charged with armed violence for being in possession of a handgun while engaged in a felony. 

Rodriquez-Cordero was also charged with armed violence and possession of a controlled substance (cocaine). 

Armed violence is a Class X felony.

Four of the men were denied pre-trial release Friday afternoon in Monroe County Circuit Court, as the charges are listed as “detainable offenses” in the Illinois Pre-Trail Fairness Act. 

Shaker declined a release hearing Friday at the Monroe County Courthouse, opting instead to hire private counsel to argue for his release Monday afternoon. That request was also denied. 

All five men are set to appear in court Aug. 27 for preliminary hearings.

According to an ISP press release,  ISP special agents, troopers with ISP Troop 8, SWAT officers and the ISP Intelligence Support Unit partnered with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Centralia Police Department and Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois for the operation. The Monroe County State’s Attorney’s Office also provided support for the operation. 

Addressing concerns expressed by residents following news of these arrests that spread over the weekend via online news sources and St. Louis TV and radio outlets, Columbia Police Chief Jason Donjon spoke during Monday’s  Columbia City Council meeting to provide more context – though the chief admitted he couldn’t give too much detail because the operation was conducted with ISP and MEGSI taking the lead. 

Donjon said the MEGSI director called him and repeatedly apologized for the way the ISP press release was handled. 

Donjon said he was under the impression the news release would be “a joint effort where we’d all be involved and make it a little more clear.”

He then explained the operation was carried out with an ISP cybercrime team out of Chicago which works with undercover teams throughout the state.

A Columbia officer who is also part of MEGSI said a similar operation was performed in St. Clair County.

Donjon likened the operation to the former NBC television show “To Catch a Predator,” during which people come to a location under the impression they will meet underage persons, but it is actually a sting operation.

This ISP operation used an undercover female officer who pretended to be 16 years old and chated with people on websites which are known to be used by sex predators.

Donjon said this undercover officer was able to have the suspects travel to Columbia. When they arrived at the meeting location, the suspects were  then apprehended by ISP and MEGSI agents, brought to the Columbia Police Department for interviews, police “dumped their phones” for evidence, and then they were taken to the Monroe County Jail for processing.

Donjon said the CPD continues to stress the importance of internet safety to youngsters in the community.

“Who you are talking to online is not who you could really be talking to,” he said.

Also at the council meeting, Columbia City Administrator Doug Brimm emphasized a point made in a memo sent to city staff Monday that “Columbia was not picked because there’s a concentration of activity that ISP had picked up on in Columbia. There were no Columbia residents that were involved in this. It was just the proximity to where ISP was communicating with.”

Donjon also noted that Monroe County State’s Attorney Ryan Webb was very much on board with the operation and expressed a desire to prosecute the cases if the operation was successful in apprehending alleged offenders.

If you suspect human trafficking, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text *233733. For more information, visit humantraffickinghotline.org or email ISP.CrimeTips@illinois.gov.