North Texas men arrested in sting operation, charged with online solicitation of a minor

Harriet Ramos
·2 min read
2

Ten North Texas men have been arrested on the suspicion of soliciting sex with a minor online, Fort Worth police said Friday.

The men planned to meet up with individuals they believed were 15 or 16 years old and engage in sexual acts with them, according to a Fort Worth Police Department social media post. But the individuals were really undercover law enforcement officials.

The officials accessed online platforms and communicated with people “who were actively seeking to engage in sexual conduct with children under the age of 17,” the police department’s post said.

Daniel Alford, a 42-year-old Fort Worth man, is a registered sex offender and was previously convicted for indecency with a child, officials said. He showed up to meet with someone he believed was 15 years old for sex and spoke sexually with someone he believed was 16 years old.

Alford’s parole was revoked, officials said. He is currently being held in the Tarrant County Jail without bond. He was arrested May 10 and charged with online solicitation of a minor, according to court records.

Another Fort Worth man, 23-year-old Joshua Whitfield, is on probation for a 2022 robbery, according to officials. He showed up to meet someone he thought was a 16-year-old girl for the purposes of sex.

Fort Worth police arrested Whitfield on May 17 and charged him with online solicitation of a minor, according to court records.

Eight other men were arrested in the sting operation and charged with one or more counts of online solicitation of a minor, which is a third degree felony in Texas, officials said.

“This release is intended to inform the public of the number of individuals arrested for attempting to solicit underage children online and the consequences that go with these actions,” police said online.

The Fort Worth Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit conducted the sting operation in cooperation with other local, state and federal agencies, the post said.

A 47-year-old school district superintendent was recently arrested in a sting operation conducted by the Humble Police Department. Michael Stephens was arrested June 1 and accused of online solicitation of a minor for sex, authorities said.