Three Arrested In Sex Crime Sting Plead Guilty In Forsyth County

CUMMING, GA — Three of the 24 men arrested on suspicion of sex crimes last fall during "Operation Just Cause" entered pleas of guilty and were sentenced this week, Forsyth County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday.

The undercover operation, conducted in September 2019, led to the arrests of 24 people for Computer or Electronic Pornography, violating the Child Exploitation Prevention Act and Trafficking of Persons for Labor or Sexual Servitude.

All told, 24 people were arrested in the sting over a four-day period. This week, three of them entered pleas of guilty and were given sentences ranging from four to 15 years in custody followed by probationary periods.

Steven Vinnenberg, 66, of Cumming was given a 30-year sentence, four of which will be served in jail and the remaining on probation, according to a release from the Forsyth County sheriff.

Court records show Vinnenberg was found guilty of Criminal Attempt to Commit Trafficking of Persons for Sexual Servitude, Computer Pornography and Obscene Internet Contact with a Child.

A 15-year sentence was handed down for Robert Harley Martin, 38, of Cumming, who will serve eight years in custody and the remaining years on probation.

Court records show Martin was found guilty of Criminal Attempt to Commit Trafficking a Person for Sexual Servitude, Computer Pornography and Criminal Attempt to Commit Child Molestation.

John Andrew Odell, 40, of Cumming was given a sentence of 20 years. He will serve one year in custody suspended upon 180 days in the Probation Detention Center.

Records show Odell was found guilty of Trafficking a Person for Sexual Servitude.

Another man arrested for drug possession during the operation was also sentenced this week.

Police said Roger Nicholson was riding with a suspect who was arrested in Operation Just Cause. When the driver was arrested, meth was found in the car, and police arrested Nicholson.

Nicholson entered a plea of guilty and was sentenced to five years' probation.

The operation was a collaborative effort between 13 law enforcement agencies: Johns Creek-Alpharetta-Forsyth County (JCAF) Drug Task Force, Alpharetta PD, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, Floyd County PD, GBI, GBI-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (GISAC), Gwinnett County PD, Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Johns Creek PD, Lilburn PD, Roswell PD, and the United States Department of Homeland Security.