DICKINSON COUNTY, Mich. (WTAQ) Earlier this week, the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office in the U.P. shared information on a human trafficking operation conducted October 8-12.
Seven men were arrested; including two men from Green Bay. They are:
- Nicholas J. Krackenberger, 29, from Iron Mountain, Mich.
- David A. Bailey, 45, from Green Bay
- Kelsey L. Nurbank, 29, from Kingsford, Mich.
- Guy A. Ruder, 51, from Tomahawk
- Joseph S. Peters, 41, from Green Bay
- John C. Coughlin, 61, from Iron Mountain, Mich.
- Dennis W. Zuern, 65, from Iron Mountain, Mich.
Each of the men were charged with:
- Child sexually abusive activity
- Use of a computer to commit child sexually abusive activity
- Use of a computer to commit accosting a child for immoral purposes
- Children – accosting for immoral purposes
These are all felony charges. The first two counts carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, the third carries a maximum of seven years and the fourth carries a maximum of four years.
Through the investigation, law enforcement posed as minors online and held conversations with various individuals suspected of being involved in the sexual exploitation of children and vulnerable adults.
Dickinson County Sheriff Aaron Rochon says this was a first of its kind operation for their county; but is something he has been considering for quite some time.
Sheriff Rochon says he made connections to other sheriff’s who had experience in this kind of operation at the Michigan Sheriff’s Association Conference. Those other sheriffs were able to send some of their detectives and other personnel to help in the Dickinson County operation.
Though the operation took place October 8-12, planning and coordinating with all law enforcement involved began in August. They then began talking to hundreds of suspects online pretending to be a minor.
“There were many conversations had, disturbing conversations, in this operation which could lead to potential further charges down the road for other people who were not arrested during this time frame.”
While countless conversations with various people took place, it was only the seven who showed up to meet — who they thought was a minor — who were able to be arrested immediately. Investigation into the other conversations is still ongoing.
The operation was supported by investigative journalist Chris Hansen and his TruBlu film crew, who documented portions of the effort to raise public awareness of human trafficking and online exploitation.
The Marquette County Sheriff, Greg Zyburt, was also at the Michigan Sheriff’s Association Conference. Sheriff Rochon said Sheriff Zyburt had connections to Chris Hansen through a previous investigation.
“Chris had actually reached out to him about doing another operation, and Sheriff Zyburt remembered me talking at the conference about wanting to do one in my area,” said Sheriff Rochon. “So he then reached out to me and asked if I was ready to do this; and that’s how I got connected to Chris.”
It’s not clear yet when this incident could appear in an episode on the TruBlu network.
The Sheriffs office says their coverage aims to highlight both the dangers facing potential victims and the proactive work being done by law enforcement across the region.
“The integrity of the investigation was always first; and Chris was excellent with that and also with the safety aspect,” said Sheriff Rochon. “He was just happy to give whatever support he could.”
Other law enforcement that participated in the operation include the Kingsford Public Safety Department, Iron Mountain Police Department, Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office, Marquette County Sheriff’s Office, Menominee County Sheriff’s Office, Niagara Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which operates under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
