Hartford, CT- On Thursday, police apprehended two individuals who were allegedly attempting to engage in illegal activities involving a minor.
Authorities reported that the two tried to pay a minor to engage in inappropriate activities with them.
According to the Hartford Police Department, Christopher Cheong, 30, of New Britain, and Jeffrey Cunningham, 50 of West Hartford, have been charged with serious offenses related to illegal sexual contact with a minor.
The charges include a criminal attempt at illegal sexual contact with a minor under 16, a criminal attempt at second-degree sexual assault, and a criminal attempt at commercial sexual abuse of a minor.
According to the authorities, they were each granted bonds worth $500,000.
A joint operation was carried out on Thursday by the Hartford Police Department’s Special Investigations Division and the FBI’s Crimes Against Children/Human Trafficking Task Force, as reported by the Hartford police.
In a news release, the police stated that Cheong and Cunningham had responded to a location in Hartford to engage in illegal activities involving a minor.
Both individuals were apprehended and transported to the Hartford police detention facility for processing, according to the authorities.
Several individuals were apprehended during a collaborative operation conducted by the FBI and Meriden police.
According to the charging documents, the four individuals made plans to meet a minor they had connected with on a website commonly used by sex workers to arrange meetings with clients. According to the court filings, it turns out that the individual they were interacting with was an undercover law enforcement officer.
Additional information regarding the investigation was not provided by the police as reported by CTPost.