On April 1, the Columbia Police Department conducted an operation to target adults luring children for sexual purposes using apps and websites, leading to the arrest of a Tylertown man.
Chief Michael Kelly said his team arrested Willie Lishone Davis, Jr., 34, who traveled to Columbia to meet an underage child for sex. Davis received one charge of computer luring of a child less than age 18 for sexual purposes and was booked into the Marion County Regional Correctional Facility.
During "Operation Don't Be a Fool," the CPD put fake identities online, and one offender was caught looking to pursue children using these methods.
"This operation wasn't as fruitful as prior ops that we have done," Detective Micheal Turner said. "We experienced several roadblocks during the mission. We still feel as it was a success with stopping even one suspect from offending a child within our community."
