MARION COUNTY, Iowa — Four people were arrested on Wednesday following a multi-agency sting operation targeting child sexual predators.

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office announced on Thursday that four people were arrested after they drove to Marion County with the intention of engaging in sexual acts with who they believed to be a minor. According to court documents, all the defendants in the investigation made these plans while conversing with the minor, who was actually an undercover officer, on the internet.

The following individuals were charged in the investigation:

Herve Twagirumukiza, 27, of Ames was charged with child enticement, person ineligible to carry a weapon, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of marijuana.

Chadwick Cooper, 40, of Colfax was charged with child enticement, distributing obscene material to a minor, and sexual exploitation of a minor.

Jason Glasgow, 49, of Oskaloosa was charged with child enticement, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of marijuana.

Stephen Spangler, 23, of Waukee was charged with child enticement.

All of the defendants were booked into the Marion County Jail on varying bond amounts. As of Thursday all but Spangler have been released. Preliminary hearings for all of the defendants have been scheduled for October 17.

“I am so proud of all the law enforcement officers from the different agencies and prosecutors that made yesterday’s event possible,” Marion County Sheriff Jason Sandholdt said in a statement. “Even with many of these officers meeting for the very first time yesterday they came together as a well-oiled machine to make these arrests efficiently and effectively. We will all continue to proactively go after these predators, in a unified way, so that they cannot prey upon our children! Beware to some individuals still out there that are not listed above — we have the evidence, and more arrests are coming in the days and months ahead. I cannot wait to host you in our jail.”

The sting operation included the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Marion County Attorney’s Office, Knoxville Police Department, Pella Police Department, Mid Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Iowa State University Police Department, Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office, Wapello County Sheriff’s Office, Henry County Sheriff’s Office, and Altoona Police Department.

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