With the efforts of four Thumb-area law enforcement agencies and technical support from the FBI, three local men were arrested this week on charges related to sex crimes and the use of computers to carry out that crime.
With the Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team (or GHOST, as it’s formally known) organizing and leading the operation, officers from the Sanilac, Tuscola and Huron County Sheriff Offices, as well as the Bad Axe Police, conducted a sting operation on Tuesday, July 12, arresting the three men within 10 hours, one of whom was arrested in the first 30 minutes, when the operation was still barely set up.
L to R: Daniel Horetski, 45; Jeremy Susalla, 40; Kevin Manor, 56
The three men– Daniel R. Horetski, age 45 of Port Austin; Kevin Manor, age 56 of Sebewaing; and Jeremey Susalla, age 40 of Ubly– have been arraigned on charges and remain lodged at the Huron County Jail on cash/surety bonds of $500,000 each. One of the men, Horetski, is a former law enforcement officer from out of state. The men’s charges are as follows: child sexually abusive activity, accosting a minor for immoral purposes and using a computer to commit a crime, with two of those charges carrying 20 years in prison each if convicted.
Sheriff Paul Rich also reported that in June 0f 2021, the GHOST team carried out their first ever sting with the tri-county Sheriff Office alliance, which resulted in then 26-year-old Alexander Kundinger of Akron being arrested on similar charges as the other men.
Alexander Kindinger, age 26 in photo
With the sheriff offices learning the GHOST model and receiving training to do future stings, another operation is already in the plans. Though this incident did not involve actual minors, each sheriff urges citizens to remain on the lookout and report any suspicious situations to prevent any future incidents involving young people.
