According to the Houston County Sheriff’s Department, three men have been arrested and charged with the solicitation of children online for unlawful sex acts as part of an ongoing investigation by local investigators. The most recent to be taken into custody was Douglas Scott Griffith, 38, of Pensacola Florida, who was charged with two felony counts of transmitting obscene material and one felony count of electronic solicitation of a child.
Investigator Aaron Kincaid reports that deputies with the Escambia County Sherrif’s Office served the warrants filed against Griffith and arrested him on Friday morning. Kincaid picked up Griffith on Monday afternoon to bring him back to the Houston County Jail.
Also arrested in this investigation was 24-year-old Trenton Isaac Driver. He was taken into custody last week and charged with two felony counts of transmitting obscene material and a single count of electronic solicitation of a child. Driver had recently graduated from Troy University with a degree in elementary education and just completed an internship at an elementary school in Covington County.
Kincaid reported that in both instances, the charges for transmitting obscene material alleged that the suspects sent naked pictures of themselves to someone who they believed to be a minor.
The first arrest in this undercover operation came on May 1, 2014 when Paul Leo Thaxton II, 40, was charged with felony traveling to meet a child for an unlawful sex act and felony electronic solicitation of a child.
Transmitting obscene material, electronic solicitation of a child, and traveling to meet a child for an unlawful sex act, are all Class B felonies in the state of Alabama and punishable by up to 20 years in prison. If you or someone you know is facing these charges and feel you are “not guilty”, it is important that you contact the Dothan attorneys at Boles Holmes White today.