ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Five men from the Carolinas, including a US Army employee stationed at Fort Liberty, are charged with trying to solicit children as young as five for sexual acts, according to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO).
Officials say these arrests are just part of the yearlong ‘Operation Blue Light’:
Oscar Adrian Osorio, 43, of Fayetteville, N.C.
Osorio is a “full-time employee” with the U.S. Army and is stationed at Fort Liberty and is charged solicitation of a child by computer and dissemination of obscene material to a minor. The Army’s Criminal Investigation Division helped RCSO deputies arrest Osorio. He is being held on a $20,00 secured bond at the Rowan County Jail.
Christopher Anthony Carras, 60, of Kernersville, N.C.
Carras was arrested at his home when RCSO deputies and Winston-Salem Police carried out a search warrant, officials say. He is charged with solicitation of a child by computer and being held at the Rowan County Jail under a $400,000 secured bond.
Edgar Jack Malcom, 70, of Newberry, S.C.
Officials say Malcom went to a Salisbury home where he thought he was going to sexually assault a child. However, Malcom was met at the home by RCSO deputies and arrested. He is charged with solicitation of a child by computer and is being held on a $150,00 secured bond.
Eric Lukjanczuk, 42, of Lewisville, N.C.
Lukjanczuk is charged with solicitation of a child by computer and dissemination of obscene material to a minor. He is under a $20,000 secured bond.
Lewis Babbidge, 56, of Indian Land, S.C.
Babbidge was arrested at his home by RCSO deputies and the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office. He is charged with solicitation of a child by computer. On Jan. 14, he was extradited to N.C. and is currently being held at the Rowan County Jail under a $25,000 secured bond.
A Yearlong Investigation
Officers reportedly talked with these men through text messages, social media and phone calls. Officials say the men thought they were talking with children between 5 and 14 years old. Through the investigation, authorities say they have gained information on real children who were actually being abused.
This was Phase 3, the final phase, ‘Operation Blue Light’ which started in Oct. 2023 to learn more about human trafficking. Phase 3 in Dec. 2024 was focused on the online solicitation of children. A private home was used as a fake home for the undercover officers posing as children or parents of vulnerable children, but only Malcom showed up.
Around 20 suspects committed crimes but were not able to be identified and arrested. Officials say one of the five arrested asked an undercover officer, posing as the parent to a 5-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter, if he could abuse the two children in exchange for the officer being able to abuse his two children.
The other four arrested believed they were speaking with children. Officials say they “still preyed on who they thought was a child and are being held accountable for it.”
Phase 1 in Oct. 2023 involved an undercover officer posing in Salisbury as a sex worker. As a result, 15 men were charged.
Phase 2 in March 2024 involved undercover officers requesting sex workers to come to a Salisbury hotel. In total, 9 men and woman were identified.
Deputies say that most were impacted by drug addiction or poverty and were not able to find other employment. Notably, a 16-year-old girl was sent to do sex work by 33-year-old Kadeem Williams, who was controlling the money she was making. He has since pleaded guilty to promoting prostitution of a minor and has been sentenced to at least 7.4 years in prison.
The total operation was about 3,000 hours of work. RCSO is thanking the many law enforcement partners and community members who helped them in this investigation.
