A Park Forest man has been charged in connection with the sexual exploitation of minors in the Kankakee area.

Bryan Rossi, 29, a resident of the 400 block of Titonka Street, was one of 15 men arrested in an FBI operation conducted in Kankakee County.

The men have been charged in separate criminal complaints with attempted enticement of a child to engage in illegal sexual activity. Some have also been charged with attempted sexual exploitation of children.

The complaints were unsealed Feb. 18 as each man made his respective initial appearance in federal court in Urbana. Each was ordered detained pending hearings.

During Rossi’s court appearance Feb. 20, U.S. Magistrate Eric Long ordered that Rossi remain in federal custody. Long said that the evidence against Rossi was strong; that Rossi would be subject to a lengthy period of incarceration, if convicted; and that based on Rossi’s substance abuse history, he could not recommend the detainee be released.

According to affidavits filed in support of the complaints, each of the men allegedly used various social media applications to contact and engage online with Federal Bureau of Investigation covert employees posing as 14- and 15-year-old minors to make arrangements to meet the minor girl or boy with the intent to engage in sexual activity. Some of the men attempted to entice or coerce the minors to send them sexually explicit images.

As the men arrived at or near a designated address in Bradley, they were arrested and taken into custody by FBI special agents, the Bradley Police Department, Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office and Kankakee Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group.

Besides Rossi, the defendants charged with attempted enticement of a minor are:

• Joshua Koenig, 27, a resident of the 100 block of West Main St., Buckley
• Jody Lagesse, 45, a resident of the 1900 block of South Schuyler Ave., Kankakee
• Shane Ferris, 23, a resident of the 1100 block of Coyote Run, Bourbonnais
• Nick Senor, 25, a resident of the 100 block of North Eighth Avenue, Kankakee
• Dale Scering, 26, a resident of the 400 block of Ivy Lane, Bradley
• Robert Anderson, 50, a resident of the 300 block of East Spruce Street, Paxton
• Timothy Dean, 37, a resident of the 200 block of Spencer Court, Bourbonnais

The defendants charged with attempted enticement of a minor and attempted sexual exploitation of a child are:

• Matthew Gribbon, 48, a resident of the 1100 block of South Fifth Avenue, Kankakee
• Ryan Woodruff, 21, a resident of the 600 block of South Rosewood Avenue, Kankakee
• Anmol Chugh, 28, a resident of the 400 block of West Dewey Street, Saint Anne
• Kyren Williams, 30, a resident of the 1000 block of South Osborn Avenue, Kankakee
• Cole Montgomery, 25, a resident of the 17300 block of 2400 North Road, Danville
• Joseph Adam Longanecker, 40, a resident of the 100 block of Birch Court, Manteno
• Jazzie Simmons, 28, a resident of the 200 block of Greenwood Avenue, Kankakee

If convicted, for the offense of attempted enticement of a minor, each defendant faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison. For the offense of attempted sexual exploitation of a child, each defendant faces a minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison.

The cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

For information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.