Decoy operation targets child predators, leads to arrests in Cape Girardeau

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (Heartland News) - A group called Operation 17:2 swept across Cape Girardeau over several days in mid-August, targeting people suspected of seeking to meet minors for sex.

The operation’s goal is to identify potential sexual predators before they reach their victims, according to the group’s founder, Garrett Gross.

“What people think all the time is that it doesn’t happen here,” he said. “Well, I promise you it happens literally everywhere, and it’s worse than what everybody thinks.”

Gross said his team creates fake profiles of minors online, then waits for people to make contact.

“The first time I ever tried to decoy myself, years ago, I had a fake profile, I had a 100-mile radius set, and I got 75 messages within an hour,” he said.

Gross said his team assisted in the arrest and charges of several men in August in Cape Girardeau, including Collier Graham, Shamal Polk and Richard Coen.

Graham, Polk and Coen all face a felony charge of enticement of a child.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Welker confirmed on October 8 that his office dropped charges against a fourth man arrested by the group, but said the case remains under investigation.

Welker said the criminal cases connected to those activities are independent of one another.

Cape Girardeau Patrolman Bobby Newton said his department supports the effort.

“Our primary goal is to protect the citizens and the children. So the work he’s doing, bringing it to light, I think it’s definitely beneficial for the community as a whole,” he said.

Newton said the evidence needed to make an arrest varies with each case.

“So we look at those text messages, we look at the other evidence that he can provide to us, based on that case, and then we put it all together to determine if probable cause exists,” he explained.

Gross used to compete as an MMA fighter. He said he takes this effort just as seriously, making sure his team has the proper evidence for an arrest and a conviction.

“We have sexual intent, we have pictures, really exotic or explicit pictures that they have sent, and then in Illinois, traveling to meet a minor is another felony; we generally get them on three to five felonies each time,” he explained.

Gross said his goal moving forward is to expand his operation and grow his outreach nationwide.

“Anywhere that is solid, like Cape PD, where they are going to make arrests and prosecute, we are going to keep going; we are going to try to get as many as we can,” he said.

We reached out to Cape County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Welker to ask him about the arrests.

Welker said in appropriate cases, the work of these nonprofit groups has resulted in his office filing criminal charges.

But, he feels the most effective approach is for these groups to contact law enforcement before taking action, allowing investigators to conduct the investigation in a manner that will support a successful prosecution.

In 2024, we reported on a similar group, Bikers Against Predators.

Their efforts led to charges and convictions against multiple men in southeast Missouri.

Two of the suspects we reported in those stories have trials scheduled for later this year.