State Police Arrest 56 in Child Porn Operation
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Nearly a third of the 56 people arrested last week on child pornography charges were in Berkshire County.
The arrests were part of "Operation Firewall," a months-long collaborative investigation that resulted in the arrests made over three days in 38 communities.
"Operation Firewall was created to address the growing problem of possession, production and sharing of child sexual abuse material, which is more commonly known as child pornography," said State Police Lt. Col. Daniel Tucker. "This coordinated enforcement also targeted child enticement and other illegal activities in which children are victimized."
Speaking a press conference at State Police Headquarters in Framingham on Monday afternoon, Tucker said the suspects ranged in age from 18 to 75 and included one woman.
"The Massachusetts State Police, along with our partners, made 56 total arrests, seized 229 devices from suspects, and executed 34 residential search warrants across every part of the state," he said. "Of those 56 arrests, 25 of them were for possession of child pornography, and 19 people were charged with enticing a child after communicating with an undercover law enforcement officer."
Arrested in the Berkshires were:
- Lopez-Santiago Manuel, 46, of Great Barrington: enticement of a child
- Jhon Fafur, 27, of North Adams: enticement of a child
- Joseph Gagnon, 67, of North Adam: enticement of a child
- Zack Comstock, 51, of North Adams: enticement of a child
- Chrstopher Tague, 38, of North Adams: enticement of a child
- Dononeil Nebar, 39, of Pittsfield: enticement of a child
- Thomas Kushi, 57, of Pittsfield: enticement of a child
- Michael Reu, 55, of Pittsfield: enticement of a child
- Jason Hadsell, 57, of Pittsfield: enticement of a child
- Robert Sabin, 69, of Pittsfield: enticement of a child
- Christopher Morin, 53, of Becket: failure to register
- Henry Glazier, 58, of Great Barrington: failure to register
- Drew Kelly, 37, of Lenox: failure to register
- Raymond Martin, 49, of North Adams: failure to register
- Michael Page, 57, of Pittsfield: failure to register
- Wayne Bingle, 71, of Pittsfield: failure to register
- George Wetherell, 40, of Pittsfield: failure to register
- Darwin Ruiz, 19, of Pittsfield: rape, assault and battery on a child
Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue noted he had started his prosecutorial career working child abuse cases and was a founder of Berkshire County Kids Place, and continued that work on being elected three years ago. The Berkshire task force has arrested and prosecuted 19 perpetrators before last week's arrests.
"The efforts that went into this recent operation were nothing short of tremendous," he said. "We were able to apprehend just last week alone, 20 suspects in this operation, including 12 child enticement child enticement arrests, seven arrests have failed to register a sex offender and one more arrest for outstanding a warrant for multiple rape charges, beginning in the most western region of Massachusetts ...
"The work for this past week not only helps to keep my community, the Berkshire community, safe, but the surrounding area as well."
Tucker said one of the reason for the operation was to bring awareness to the fact that Internet Crimes Against Children are on the rise.
"The Massachusetts Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received more than 1,000 tips in just the past week, which is indicative of the trend we've been seeing for years now," he said. "In 2020 received 5,613 cyber tips. We are tracked to receive more than 20,000 in 2025 that is approximately 270 percent increase since the pandemic."
"This kind of work is not easy. It's time consuming, it's taxing, it's expensive and requires an extraordinary level of care and precision, but the results keeping our children, our community safe make every moment worth it," Tucker said.
Abused children are traumatized, which can lead to unhealthy and risky future activities, said officials. District attorneys offices and police often work with schools on prevention and internet safety, and to confide in trusted adults.
"We tell them that they're not alone in this, and most of all, if any of the families out there feel that they have a problem, call the state please," said Tucker. "Call your local DA's office asked for the help, because we know too often this goes under the radar.
State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble thanked the many collaborators in working the operation and the governor's office for its support.
"Whether you're a trooper, an officer, a prosecutor, seeing these cases through to the end requires tremendous resolve. They require you to set aside your personal feelings about these disturbing behaviors and follow the facts and evidence," Noble said. "These investigations also require us to overcome the evasive tactics of the suspects who conceal their identity and their activity with encryption or decoy IP addresses and any emerging technology that enables them to go unchecked as currently, I could not be more proud of our troopers and their partners."
Tags: child abuse,
