Six men are facing charges after Bristol, Tennessee police say they engaged in explicit sexual conversations with detectives posing online as females under 18, part of a months-long undercover operation that has now swept up 26 suspects since May. Police say some of the men sent or requested nude photographs, while others allegedly arranged to meet the supposed juvenile for sexual activity.
The Bristol Tennessee Police Department said six suspects have been arrested as part of an ongoing undercover operation targeting suspected online predators, according to WCYB. Separately, WJHL reported that four local individuals are among the six suspects recently arrested.
Who Was Arrested
Among those named by police are Joseph Blakley, 57, of Kingsport, Tennessee; Dakota Scott, 24, of Abingdon, Virginia; Matthew Lazarto, 43, of Flag Pond, Tennessee; Peyton McClellan, 21, of Kingsport, Tennessee; and Ivan Sosa, 37, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, per WCYB's reporting. Evidence reviewed for this story documents sexual-exploitation charges against Lazarto, McClellan and Sosa, as well as Benjamin Carper, 53, of Sevierville, Tennessee.
Scott, Lazarto, Blakley, McClellan and Sosa each face a charge of solicitation of a minor, and Lazarto, McClellan, Sosa and Carper face an additional charge of sexual exploitation of a minor via electronic means. Scott also faces separate charges of simple possession in two counts and unlawful drug paraphernalia. WJHL's report lists specific arrest dates for four of the men: Scott on September 3, Lazarto on September 9, Blakley on September 12, and McClellan on October 7.
Pattern Spans Months of Arrests
The arrests are the latest round in a sting that has been running since May. Police say the operation has resulted in the arrests of 26 suspects total, per the same WCYB account. Earlier rounds were documented in local coverage from the Herald Courier, which reported that Bristol Tennessee Police had arrested eight additional suspects during an earlier June-and-July phase of the same undercover operation.
That same Herald Courier report noted the June-and-July arrests followed an earlier wave in which six other suspects were arrested in May and June. A separate Herald Courier account dated August 26, 2026, described six area men charged in that earlier stage of the ongoing investigation, showing the sting has steadily added suspects in waves over several months.
How the Charges Are Defined
Under definitions published by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the offense tied to soliciting sexual exploitation of a minor involves causing a minor to engage in sexual activity or simulated sexual activity considered patently offensive under state law, where that activity is observed by another person.
Police say suspects in each case participated in explicit sexual conversations with detectives posing as females under age 18, and that some suspects sent or requested nude photographs while others made arrangements to meet the supposed juvenile for sexual activity. Those details were drawn from the same WCYB report. As of this writing, there is no public information on booking details, bond amounts, or court dates for the six men named in this round of arrests.
