Four were arrested in a sex sting operation by the Garrard County Police Department, which used social media to locate the alleged perpetrators.

According to a press release from the department, Officer Josh Gibson represented himself as a 15-year-old female who was interested in meeting an older man for sex. He would exchange private online messages and text messages, then scheduled a time to meet.

Gibson said the sting began after he spoke to deputies in Boyle County about a similar operation they had conducted this year.

“It’s a problem everywhere,” Gibson said.

Darrell Cox, 41, of Lexington; Juan Tlazalo, 34, of Lexington; Tracy Wolfinbarger, 46, of Berea; and Micah Lester, 28, of Lancaster are all facing charges of first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor, illegal sex act, under 16 years of age; and prohibited use of an electronic communication system regarding sex offenses.

Tlazalo also faces a charge of no operators or moped license; Lester also faces charges of possession of marijuana; third-degree unlawful transaction with a minor; and resisting arrest.

In the release from the department, Gibson said, “sex abuse, rape and molestation occurs in our world everyday. This department is trying to protect the young generation of our community by stopping these actions before they take place and ultimately prevent a case of a child that has been permanently scarred because of a sex predator. No child should have to feel unsafe in their hometown.

“Whether it’s drug offenses, sex offenses or other criminal offenses, the ultimate goal is to provide a safe community for our citizens and for the kids to grow up in and that’s why I got into law enforcement to begin with.”

He thanked the Garrard County Fiscal Court, Judge-Executive John Wilson and Garrard County Police Chief Tevis Graham for allowing investigations like that to be possible. Wilson and Graham are also both quoted in the release.

Wilson said, “We know it’s a dangerous world out there, but I hope pedophiles will think twice about coming to Garrard County in the future knowing that our law enforcement are running these types of operations here. Limited funding would have made undercover programs like this impossible just a year ago, so I appreciate that the fiscal court has made the resources available to law enforcement to be proactive and make a difference before we have a victim.”

Graham said, “Much of my career in law enforcement has been spent responding to calls for help after something terrible has happened, so it’s especially rewarding to know our work has made a difference to someone’s little girl before she was abused.

“I look at the innocence of my own granddaughter and given the successes we had here, anticipate more of these types of operations in the future.”

Graham encouraged parents to be monitor their children’s online activity closely.

Lancaster Police Department also assisted in the apprehension of the men.