Sheriff: 4 from Louisiana, 1 from Wisconsin arrested, accused of preying on kids online

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — The Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office said five arrests were made after investigating suspects on various social media platforms.

“Detectives are identifying individuals preying on naive and innocent juvenile users of social media platforms and gaming servers online,” said Sheriff Jason Ard.

Emmanuel Rivas, 26, of Denham Springs, was charged with indecent behavior with juveniles and computer-aided solicitation of a minor.

Jason Shaw, 41, of Walker, was charged with indecent behavior with juveniles and computer-aided solicitation of a minor. A follow-up investigation by the LPSO Narcotics Division led to additional charges for Shaw, including five counts of possession with intent to distribute a Schedule 1 controlled dangerous substance, CDS in the presence of a firearm, violation CDS near a school and CDS in the presence of a minor.

Paul Briley Venable, 37, of Lafayette, was charged with indecent behavior with juveniles and computer-aided solicitation of a minor.

Brandon Buhler, 27, of Hammond, was charged with indecent behavior with juveniles.

Lee Lepke, 31, of Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin, was charged with indecent behavior with juveniles and computer-aided solicitation of a minor.

Deputies said investigations are ongoing.

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