On Aug. 4 the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department received a complaint about a missing 15-year-old female in Liberty.
The father of the 15-year-old said his daughter had told him on Aug. 2 she was going to a friend’s house to spend the night. The next day, she texted her father and said she wanted to spend that night with another friend.
On Aug. 4 the father could not get back in touch with her and contacted the sheriff’s department and filed a missing juvenile report.
After the report was filed Aug. 4, officers tried to enter her into the Amber Alert System, but were advised she did not meet the standards of an Amber Alert because she was not abducted and left on her own free will.
While trying to locate the juvenile, the department was able to gain access into one of her social media networks. It was discovered the juvenile was having conversations, and was uploading explicit pictures of herself, to a man named Charles Denton, 34, from Nashville.
It was then found there were uploads of the juvenile’s pictures, along with another young girl’s picture, on a website which is known to be associated with illegal activities.
Detectives then found a person believed to be associated with the ad in a motel off of Wallace Road in Nashville. They called an agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation who specializes in commercial sex crimes. The agent went to the motel on Wallace Road and set up surveillance. He then called for two DeKalb detectives to come to Nashville and setup an undercover sting on the motel room. After the detectives arrived, a TBI agent set up an appointment to purchase sex there in a motel room through the website.
A decision was made to take down whoever was in the motel room. An undercover TBI Agent went to the room as planned to purchase sex. After he was in the room, other officers entered the room and detained everyone.
Officers found the missing Liberty juvenile as well as  another 17-year-old juvenile who had been reported missing from Nashville. An adult female was also in the room with the juveniles.
Through an investigation, it was found that Charles Denton was the one who planned to meet the missing juvenile on Aug.2. Denton drove to Liberty, picked the juvenile up and transported her to Nashville for the purpose of commercial sex.
After returning back to DeKalb County, detectives obtained a state warrant for Charles Denton.
On Aug. 25 a special called meeting of the DeKalb County Grand Jury convened and a sealed indictment was obtained on Charles Denton for trafficking for a commercial sex act.
Denton has been entered into the national crime information center as wanted since Aug 6.
Denton was picked up in Davidson County on Aug. 31. He was transport to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department where he remains in custody on a $250,000 bond.  His court date is Sept. 11.
Local officers working the case were Deputy Michael Trusty, Detectives Jimmy Martin, Robert Patrick, and Stephen Barrett and Sheriff Patrick Ray.
Sheriff Ray said parents should be aware of what their children are doing on the internet. He urged parents to monitor what their children are doing on social media sites such as Facebook, Snap Chat, Twitter, Kik (pronounced kick), Instagram, and Text Now.
Pedophiles try to communicate with minors as a friend and set up meetings with children promising them freedom, money, lavish lifestyles, and sex. If you find someone trying to setup a meeting with a child or any suspicious comments, please report them to the sheriff’s department.