CASCADE, Mich. — Several of the men picked up in a recent undercover sex worker sting operation made their first appearance in court Friday afternoon, each being charged with two misdemeanor counts.
Angel Escot-Miranda, Darrian Morris, Caleb Meehan, Michael MacPherson, Justin Lee, Dawson Ricord, Brandon Dipiazza, and Cole Thomas are all facing charges of soliciting prostitution and using a computer to commit a crime.
Both charges are misdemeanors — if convicted on both counts, they could each face up to one year and 93 days in jail.
Five of the men charged decided to waive their arraignments, where defendants typically have their charges read out to them.
The three remaining men appeared in court Friday in front of Kent County 63rd District Court Judge Sara J. Smolenski.
All of the men facing charges are from Michigan, aside from one man from Angola, Indiana.
"The KCSO continues to work to prevent human trafficking through operations such as this," the Kent County Sheriff's Office said in a statement after the arrests back on Aug. 3. "The investigation remains open as detectives continue learning more after the arrests were made."
READ MORE: 8 arrested during undercover prostitution sting in Cascade Township
All eight men were busted on the same evening after investigators posted a phony advertisement for commercial sex workers online.
The men would allegedly reach out to the undercover officer acting as the supposed sex worker, asking them to define what they wanted to do in terms of sexual acts and how much they would be paying.
Once they showed up to the hotel the team was staked out at, they were told to contact the person they believed was the actual sex worker.
At that point, they would be instructed to go inside a side door of the hotel and come to a specific room on the first floor.
Once they opened the door, they would be handcuffed.
