A South Carolina man was arrested and a 13-year-old Cookeville girl has been kept from sexual exploitation following an investigation by TBI’s Cybercrime & Digital Evidence Unit.
TBI’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Squad began investigating a troubling advertisement on the dark web, depicting a 13-year-old girl being solicited for sexual activity. The ad caught the attention of 39-year-old David Vanelli of Anderson, South Carolina, who engaged in inappropriate conversation with the girl.
Agents located the girl and her family, took over the chat, and arranged for a meeting Tuesday night. Law enforcement arrested Vanelli with one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and one count of Solicitation of Aggravated Statutory Rape.
Vanelli was booked into the Putnam County Jail on a $53,000 bond.
