Group aims to help police decoy online sexual predators

NORTH ALABAMA – A sting operation two weeks ago week that nabbed area residents on charges of first-degree human trafficking, traveling to meet a child for an unlawful sex act and electronic solicitation of a child was one of many conducted recently with the assistance of nonprofit Covenant Rescue Group.

According to founder Jared Hudson, Covenant Rescue serves as a consultant to law enforcement agencies conducting child exploitation and human trafficking operations and directs their approach in how to deal with the suspects.

Hudson, a former Navy SEAL, said he started the organization with his wife in 2018 after working as a state law enforcement officer handling human trafficking cases. He ran unsuccessfully for Jefferson County sheriff in 2022.

“The reason we started this nonprofit is because, with some of the work I was doing in law enforcement, I got involved in anti-human trafficking and me and my wife just felt led by the Lord to do this,” Hudson said. “With my background in the SEALs team, my background in law enforcement, it opened the doors for us to work with law enforcement in child exploitation cases.”

Nine were arrested Jan. 23-24 in Huntsville for human trafficking and child sexual abuse. The investigation was led by the Huntsville Police Department in a joint operation that included the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office and the Madison County District Attorney’s Office, with assistance from Covenant Rescue.

The following individuals were arrested:

Marco Elias, 31, Gulfport, TX Floyd Corey Powell Jr., 31, Harvest Michael John Fike, 53, Somerville Shivam Patel, 23, Muscle Shoals Michael Anthony Stevens, 33, Albertville Juilo Tomas Juan, 22, Decatur Gilmar Aralto Elias Huniac, 45, Carthage, MO Elmer Geovany Sarmiento, 32, Huntsville Bryan Tse Nde, 27, Huntsville

Hudson said his team trains law enforcement agencies before they initiate arrests of individuals suspected of child exploitation and human trafficking and met with Huntsville law enforcement officers before the nine men were arrested.

He said the cases in Huntsville, as well as the majority of cases he has assisted with, were internet-based. They involved the suspects communicating with decoys in an online chatroom. He said the decoy is usually employed by a law enforcement agency, and Covenant offers the decoy tips on how to build the case against the suspect.

“We will advise them on how to respond,” Hudson said. “When (the suspects) reach out to that law enforcement agent, they’re reaching out strictly for purchasing somebody for some sort of sex act. That’s the way it is initiated, by the individual reaching out. We make sure they understand that the (purported) age is 13 or 14 or whatever the specific area calls for or whatever the district attorney’s office wants to see.”

Hudson said if the suspects continue to pursue the agent, or decoy, after being informed of their age, a meeting date will be negotiated and once the suspect shows up, they are subject to arrest and prosecution.

Hudson referenced the efforts of Chris Hansen, a journalist and television host best known for his investigative work on “To Catch a Predator,” and the “Hansen VS Predators” series that exposed individuals attempting to exploit minors online. He said Hansen also works with law enforcement, but said several groups on social media have been created to mimic Hansen’s work. Most, he said, do not work with law enforcement and their actions could compromise investigations into potential child predators.

Anyone can create an online or social media profile with a fake picture and age to bait suspected child predators, Hudson said, but building a successful felony case against them is something that requires a professional and can only be achieved by working with law enforcement.

“These groups negatively impact our ability to do these types of operations,” Hudson said. “In deer hunting, if you sit out in the woods and shoot at every buck that walks by and you’re not hitting them, those deer are going to get smart. It’s the same thing with these individuals; they’re smart and they know how to protect themselves and when groups do stuff like that, these guys just get smarter and smarter. That makes it harder to successfully prosecute the cases.”

Hudson emphasized that in the age of social media, parents and guardians must monitor both the amount of time their children spend online and who they communicate with daily.

“Stay involved in your kid’s digital footprint or your kid’s digital fingerprint, because that’s where these predators exist,” Hudson said. “They might never show up and touch your kid but they might extort your child, they might try to obtain nudes or other photos your kid should not be sending.”

Hudson said Covenant Rescue Group was involved in 100 arrests in 2024 in 10 different operations, and out of those 100 arrests, 80 were convicted. He said most of their cases have been in Alabama, but their work goes across the whole country.