Two men are headed to trial after a week-long undercover sting in July 2026 in which Howard County investigators posed online as underage teens to lure adults seeking to sexually exploit minors. Kevin Shaia, 33, of La Porte, and Christopher Amici, 42, of Kokomo, were each arrested after traveling to a predetermined meeting spot, believing they were about to meet someone under 18, and both were taken into custody without incident.
Each man faces two Level 4 felony counts, child solicitation and sexual misconduct with a minor, according to a press release from the Howard County Sheriff's Office. Online court records reviewed by WTHR show the two are scheduled to begin a jury trial on October 23. Shaia's drive from La Porte to Kokomo covers roughly 104 miles, according to mapping data from Rome2Rio, illustrating how far he traveled to reach the arranged meeting point.
During the operation, investigators used undercover online personas portraying underage individuals to identify people attempting to engage in criminal activity involving minors, the sheriff's office said. Numerous online conversations were initiated with individuals who believed they were communicating with juveniles before the two men allegedly arrived at the meeting location intending to engage in sexual acts with someone they believed was a minor.
Multiple Agencies Behind the Weeklong Operation
The sting, hosted by the Howard County Sheriff's Office in July, drew participation from the sheriff's office Task Force Unit, the Kokomo Police Department, the Clinton County Sheriff's Office, the Indiana State Police, and the Department of Homeland Security, per the release. Captain Jordan J. Buckley, the sheriff's office's patrol commander, is listed as the point of contact for the case and can be reached at [email protected] or 765-614-3466.
The sheriff's office emphasized that the filing of the information is merely an allegation and that all persons charged are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court. Anyone reporting an internet-related crime involving a child victim is directed to contact their local Indiana law enforcement agency.
Part of a Statewide Pattern
The Howard County case follows closely on the heels of a separate sting the sheriff's office assisted with in Bartholomew County, where five men were arrested on August 24 after traveling more than 400 miles combined to Columbus, Indiana, as Hoodline previously reported. That operation also involved the Clinton County Sheriff's Office working alongside the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, according to Local News Digital.
The Indiana ICAC Task Force, managed by the Indiana State Police and funded by the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, comprises more than 50 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, according to information published on IN.gov. The task force encourages Hoosiers to report online exploitation, solicitation, and enticement crimes against children to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. CyberTips reported to the task force statewide grew from 405 in 2008 to more than 14,000 in 2022, based on Indiana State Police figures cited by WTHR, reflecting a dramatic rise in reported online exploitation cases across the state.
Legal Exposure and Prior Local Cases
Under Indiana Code § 35-42-4-6, child solicitation is elevated from a Level 5 to a Level 4 felony when a suspect uses a computer network to communicate with someone believed to be under 14 and then travels to meet them, according to FindLaw. A Level 4 felony conviction under Indiana Code § 35-50-2-5.5 carries a fixed prison term of two to 12 years, with an advisory baseline of six years, plus potential fines up to $10,000, per Justia Law. Anyone convicted of child solicitation or sexual misconduct with a minor in Indiana is also required under Indiana Code § 11-8-8 to register on the state's Sex and Violent Offender Registry, according to The Criminal Defense Team.
This is not the first ICAC-linked case to touch Howard County this year. In February, the Howard County Sheriff's Office and Kokomo Police Department worked with an ICAC Task Force investigator to arrest a 67-year-old Kokomo man on charges of possessing child sexual abuse material, a case Hoodline covered in detail. Separately, Kokomo Police and the sheriff's office renewed public calls this month for help locating a 16-year-old runaway missing since May, underscoring ongoing concerns about youth safety in the county.
