Six men charged with sex abuse of children
Six Kalispell-area men have been charged with sexual abuse of children and identified by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office after they were nabbed in an undercover operation last week.
They are Karl Cilroy Wortley, 34, Kalispell; Joshua Fredrick Naethe, 36, Somers; Benjamin David Emrich, 32, Kalispell; Justin Allen Zeiss, 34, Kalispell; Christopher Paul Adams, 37, Kalispell; and Daniel Anthony Hall, 33, Kalispell.
All are being held in the Flathead County Detention Center.
“They have all been charged with sexual abuse of children,” Sheriff Chuck Curry said. “For obvious reasons, we don’t discuss the exact tactics of the operation ... it involves an undercover, proactive investigation that does involve the Internet.”
All six defendants made initial appearances in Flathead County Justice Court, and bond was set at $100,000 for each of them, according to the Flathead County Attorney’s Office.
Wortley has an arraignment date of Aug. 28 and Hall’s is Sept. 11. Emrich, Naethe, Adams and Zeiss are scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 4.
A Frenchtown man, Curtis Edward Foster, 41, also was arrested as part of the multi-agency operation that lasted for four days.
According to Missoula County law enforcement, Foster attempted to set up a sexual encounter with a 13-year-old girl in Missoula who actually was an undercover detective.
Foster exchanged calls and text messages about paying money for sex. When Foster found out his potential victims were in another county, he asked if there was an adolescent available in Missoula, and he was told that a 13-year-old was available. Foster allegedly set up a time to meet at a local hotel, where he was confronted and arrested by officers.
The Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force involves multiple county, city and federal agencies.
Since July 2013, the task force has been involved in the arrest of 32 Montana residents after similar investigations.
That total does not include individuals arrested in day-to-day law enforcement efforts pertaining to sex crimes.
The task force maintains a daily presence on the Internet with the goal of exposing people who aim to exploit children.