A Cleveland man was arrested during a joint operation involving local, state and federal law enforcement agencies for indecent liberties with a child.

Neal David Wilfong, 78, was arrested along with 15 other individuals from around the state as part of the operation.

According to a press release from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, a joint press conference was held Friday regarding the arrest of those 16 individuals accused of soliciting, sexually exploiting or abusing children.

The arrests are part of Operation Winter Guardian which included 44 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies working together as part of the North Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (NCICAC).

The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is a nationally coordinated effort of 61 regional task forces dedicated to investigating, prosecuting and effectively responding to internet crimes against children. In North Carolina, the NC State Bureau of Investigation’s Computer Crimes Unit leads the NCICAC Task Force, consisting of more than 250 agencies across the state.

Operation Winter Guardian was a two-part initiative by the NCICAC in January, primarily during the week of Jan. 8.

One phase of the operation consisted of law enforcement investigators acting in an undercover capacity online and participating in chats with individuals seeking to meet juveniles for sexual activity.

Some of those individuals allegedly traveled to a location in Gaston County to meet the person they believed to be a child to engage in those sex acts.

The second phase of the operation involved investigators executing search warrants at several locations throughout the state that were identified as distribution points where child sexual exploitation images were shared.

“In a time when we are seeing a record number of CyberTip reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, it is imperative that we continue to conduct proactive investigations like these,” said Kevin Roughton, NCICAC commander and SBI special agent in charge. “The cases in this operation had not been reported to anyone. Without the joint effort of our local and federal partner agencies, these offenders could still be engaging in the same criminal acts today; but even more importantly, the children who were safeguarded would likely continue to be victimized again and again without anyone knowing and no one coming to help them.”

Gaston County District Attorney Travis Page added, “We are very grateful to have partnered with our federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in Operation Winter Guardian, and the people of our community should be encouraged by the interagency cooperation necessary to successfully complete this operation.

“The District Attorney’s Office is firmly committed to holding all sexual predators accountable and will work tirelessly with our law enforcement to make our community a safer place to live.”

Through these investigations, at least five children were identified and safeguarded from ongoing sexual abuse. The following individuals have been arrested:

Gabriel John Yager, Apex, 23

• Second degree sexual exploitation of a minor (seven counts)

Hunter Ray Fesperman, Hertford, 21

• Second degree sexual exploitation of a minor (four counts)

Larry Ray Haskins, Lenoir, 34

• Second degree sexual exploitation of a minor (one count)

Jubonte Stevenson, New Bern, 36

• First degree statutory sex offense (one count)

Jonathan Paul Swiney, Asheboro, 43

• Second degree child sexual exploitation of a minor (one count)

Scott Thomas Wallace, Wilmington, 53

• Third degree sexual exploitation of a minor (three counts)

Johnathan Cody McCall, Swansboro, 36

• Second degree sexual exploitation of a minor (10 counts)

• Third degree sexual exploitation of a minor (10 counts)

Jamie Tucker, Louisburg, 40

• Second degree sexual exploitation of a minor (six counts)

• Secret peeping (two counts)

• Manufacture schedule VI (one count)

• PWISD marijuana (one count)

• Maintaining/Vehicle/Dwelling/Place (one count)

Nicholas Tyler Banks, Burnsville, 22

• 2nd degree sexual exploitation of a minor (one count)

• Failure to inform of new online identifier (one count)

• 3rd degree sexual exploitation of a minor (one count)

Darryl Edwin Foley, Garner, 34

• First degree sexual exploitation of a minor (7 counts)

• Second degree sexual exploitation of a minor (10 counts)

• Statutory sex offense with a child by an adult (3 counts)

• First degree statutory rape (2 counts)

Carmen Delia Foley, Garner, 31

• First degree sexual exploitation of a minor (13 counts)

• Statutory sexual offense with a child by an adult (2 counts)

• Aid and Abetting first degree statutory rape (2 counts)

Lance Skipper, Zebulon, 40

• 2nd degree sexual exploitation of a minor (one count)

Barry Glenn Swinson, Randleman, 74

• Indecent liberties (one count)

• Solicitation of a child by computer for sex act (one count)

David Anthony Roux, Charlotte, 35

• Indecent liberties (one count)

Zachary Dean Williams, Wadesboro, 27

• Indecent liberties (one count)

• Solicitation of a child by computer for sex act (one count)