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2 men trying to meet children for sex arrested in Clay County, sheriff says

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Clay County Sheriff's Office

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two men accused of trying to meet children for sex were arrested last week in Clay County as a part of a counter-human trafficking operation, authorities said.

Jose Trinidad-Diaz, 33, and Dominic Shelby, 34, were charged for similar crimes in separate incidents.

Arrest of Trinidad-Diaz

On Thursday, Jan. 23, just before midnight, an undercover deputy received a text message from Trinidad-Diaz after she placed an advertisement on Megapersonals.com.

The deputy and Trinidad-Diaz exchanged multiple messages, where she told him three times she was 14-years-old, according to court documents.

Trinidad-Diaz allegedly acknowledged her age and told the undercover deputy he would pay her $60.00 for a "quick" 15 minutes of sex.

The deputy asked what exactly he wanted, to which he replied, "Well, you've sold your sex service, that's what I'm going to pay for, the service."

Trinidad-Diaz and the undercover deputy agreed to meet at a home in the 4300 block of NE Kelsey Road.

At 12:48 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 24, Trinidad-Diaz arrived at the home and later came to the front door.

Once he saw deputies, he closed the door and attempted to hold it so deputies couldn't go inside.

Eventually, deputies made their way inside and arrested him.

During an interview with investigators, he apologized for his actions and again acknowledged he was told the person he planned to meet was 14-years-old.

Investigators later learned Trinidad-Diaz is a Mexican native who is inside of the United States illegally.

Arrest of Shelby

On Jan. 17, 2025, an undercover deputy in Bourbon County, Kansas, placed an advertisement on multiple sex sites, including on Megapersonals.com.

Shelby allegedly first responded to the advertisement on Thursday, Jan. 23.

The undercover deputy and Shelby began communicating through text message and over the phone on messenger applications.

Shelby was told three times by the undercover agent that she was only 14, which he allegedly acknowledged.

They eventually agreed to meet for sex in exchange for $120.

On Friday, Jan. 24, Shelby texted the undercover agent he could be meet at 5 p.m. The agent agreed but said it'd have to be a car date.

Eventually, Shelby agreed to meet at a QuikTrip in Liberty and he told the agent he also purchased a room.

Agents conducted surveillance on Shelby when he arrived at the gas station before eventually arresting him.

During an interview with investigators, Shelby said he agreed to meet with the agent but said he didn't know he was planning to meet a 14-year-old.

Potential trafficking victims helped

As part of the efforts, investigators also conducted a victim advocacy operation at a Clay County hotel.

Investigators posted an online ad purportedly soliciting sex as many sex workers are often victims of human trafficking.

Authorities said 27 sex workers responded to the hotel and 13 of them agreed to accept services to leave their lives of sex trafficking and sex work.

Advocates from the organizations Value Unconditional and Relentless Pursuit met with the victims and began giving them resources.

The operation was conducted by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations - Kansas City and the Ray County Counter Human Trafficking Task Force.