BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A former Bexar County firefighter was among five men arrested for sex crimes in an undercover operation Wednesday, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said.
Joseph Littlefield, 34, was arrested for online solicitation of a minor.
He was previously employed by Bexar County Emergency Services District No. 2, but Sheriff Javier Salazar said Littlefield was fired after he notified the fire chief of Littlefield’s actions Wednesday night.
Littlefield is accused of sharing explicit messages and phone calls with an undercover deputy who posed as a minor.
The former firefighter did not end up going to a hotel where he believed the teenage girl would be, but the sheriff’s office chose to arrest him anyway.
“Enough of the offense had already occurred through conversations online and by telephone,” Salazar said during a news conference Thursday. “That gave us sufficient evidence to apply for a search and arrest warrant.”
Salazar said his office also has reason to believe Littlefield is involved as a religious leader, such as “some sort of a pastor or youth minister.”
While Littlefield did not attempt to meet the undercover deputy, two other men were arrested who did.
Charles Richard Davis and Lorin Gisseman were also arrested on charges of suspected online solicitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.
Davis was also found to be in possession of material depicting sexual abuse of a minor.
Salazar said these crimes took place in plain sight, occurring in multiple mainstream platforms, including gaming sites, social media and chatrooms.
“All of them are susceptible to this sort of activity,” Salazar said.
Davis, 42, traveled from Houston to a Bexar County hotel to meet what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. Gisseman traveled from Comal County.
Gisseman brought an elderly family member to visit the girl, whom Salazar believes wasn’t aware of the situation.
“We encountered the elderly family member out in the parking lot in the car,” Salazar said. “They may have just been around for the ride.”
Two other men were arrested on charges of online solicitation of prostitution.
Salazar said there is a spike in attempted sex crimes during large events in San Antonio, such as Fiesta.
“Statistically speaking... anytime there’s a big huge crowd with hundreds of thousands of people, there’s also going to be people interested in stuff like this,” Salazar said.
“We’ve seen instances of folks into trafficking of children and adults will come here because they know that there’s a ready client base of hundreds of thousands of people coming from across the country,” Salazar continued.
Salazar encourages individuals to come forward if they have any information about any of the suspects or have experienced similar situations.
People can call 210-335-6000 or reach out through the BCSO website.
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