Four men have been arrested during an undercover sting operation in Hartford aimed at targeting child exploitation.
The Hartford Police Major Crimes Division worked with the Southeast and Northeast community service officers and the FBI Crimes Against Children/Human Trafficking Task Force to conduct an undercover sting at an undisclosed hotel in the City of Hartford on Friday.
According to police, undercover law enforcement personnel pretended to be a 15-year-old girl's aunt on the internet and talked with the four men who were later arrested.
During the online conversations, authorities said the four men made agreements to exchange money for sexual relations with an underage girl.
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The four men reportedly verified their arrival at the hotel and were then given a hotel room by detectives.
When the four men each went to the hotel room, police said they were greeted by an undercover detective that was posing as a minor. Each man was then placed into custody.
The four men have been identified as 32-year-old Jonathan Almonte, of Hartford; 31-year-old Aqib Bakawala, of Manchester; 28-year-old Angel Rodriguez, of East Haven; and 35-year-old Michael Huang, of New York.
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Each of them is facing charges including criminal attempt/illegal sexual contact with a minor under 16, criminal attempt/sexual assault and criminal attempt/commercial sexual abuse of a minor.
