Child predator stings lead to Vancouver man’s arrest

A Vancouver man was arrested Tuesday as part of a monthslong series of child predator stings in Washington County, Ore.

Justin DePriest, 31, has been charged with luring a minor and first-degree online sexual corruption of a child, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. DePriest is one of 17 men arrested by the sheriff’s office since July.

In October, DePriest agreed to meet a child for sex while chatting with an undercover police officer, according to the sheriff’s office. Detectives chatted with him for another month as they worked to identify him.

On Tuesday, DePriest drove to Oregon believing that he was meeting with a child for sex, but he was arrested instead, the sheriff’s office said.

The stings began July 11, when investigators posed on social media platforms and dating websites as 15-year-old boys and girls. Some users immediately stopped conversations after learning that they were speaking to children. But six men were arrested after attempting to meet children for sex, the sheriff’s office said.

On Oct. 17, a similar operation led to nine more arrests — and eventually DePriest’s capture. Another man was arrested Nov. 26 in relation to the July sting.