Three men who traveled to Clay County during the NFL 2023 Draft in Kansas City to allegedly engage in sex with children were arrested as part of a sting operation by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations, the sheriff office announced Monday.
The men allegedly chatted online with members of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City pretending to be “children” or adults offering children for sex, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
Deputies arrested the men after they allegedly showed up at the designated apartment or hotel room between Wednesday and Sunday. The three men, who appeared in Clay County Circuit Court on Monday, all pleaded not guilty.
Nicholas C. Keith, 33, of Lee’s Summit, was charged with attempted statutory sodomy-deviate sexual intercourse involving a child under the age of 14 years old. He was being held in Clay County jail on a $25,000 bond.
Glicerio M. Gallahad, 41, of Madison, New Jersey, was charged with attempted statutory sodomy-deviate sexual intercourse involving a child under the age of 14 years old. He was being held in Clay County jail on $40,000 bond.
Link I. Laithreach, 33, of Portland, Oregon, was charged with attempted statutory sodomy-deviate sexual intercourse involving a child under the age of 12 years old. He has posted a $20,000 bond.
An attorney for Laithreach could not be reached for comment. Neither Keith nor Gallahad had attorneys listed in their court records.
“The NFL Draft was an amazing experience for the entire Kansas City metro area, but we know events of that magnitude also can increase the opportunity for victimization,” Clay County Sheriff Will Akin said in the release. ”Through this joint operation with HSI-KC, we wanted to reduce the chance any child in our community would fall victim to such a heinous crime.”
Taekuk Cho, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City said he couldn’t be more proud of the members of the two agencies who have dedicated their lives to removing child predators from the streets.
“Our ability to identify and rescue child victims; apprehend offenders; and help make the internet a safer place for children is even stronger when we have talented and dedicated law enforcement partners, like those at Clay County, working alongside our special agents,” he said in the release.