Three men have been arrested in sting operations on charges they tried to meet minors for sex.

Kevin Heumaneus, 44, of Lawrenceville; Kenneth Acebal, 46, of Alpharetta; and Michael Mays, 47, of Dalton are charged with attempted child molestation.

The FBI-led Safe Child Task Force arrested Heumaneus and Acebal in Ringgold, and Mays in Dalton. The task force has made dozens of cases in northwest Georgia recently.

Authorities say the suspects began a series of online chats with undercover agents posing as minors. Then, each suspect tried to meet "with what he thought was a minor child for purposes of having sex," the FBI said.

Heumaneus and Acebel are being held at the Catoosa County Detention Center. Mays is being held at the Whitfield County Detention Center.

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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