Carl Deveier Wemple, 45, 4900 block of W. Quail Run Drive
HANCOCK COUNTY — The New Palestine man who was arrested several weeks ago along with 20 other people involved in a child solicitation sting operation in Johnson County has officially been charged with the crime.
Carl Deveier Wemple, 45, 4900 block of W. Quail Run Drive, has been charged with a Level 4 felony count of child solicitation, a charge that carries anywhere from two to 12 years in prison.
Wemple, a 17-year veteran of the Indianapolis Fire Department (IFD), was off duty at the time of his arrest Nov. 29, 2023. He has been indefinitely suspended without pay pending the outcome of his legal case, the agency said in a media advisory.
The case against Wemple was officially opened in a Johnson County courtroom Monday. It comes some six weeks after the initial arrest where Wemple and 20 others were charged.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on Nov. 29, 2023, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Investigation’s Division conducted an Internet Underage Sex Operation. A profile post was created on a website for individuals interested in sexual acts.
An undercover detective from Franklin Police Department portrayed themselves as a 14-year-old female, the affidavit said.
On Nov. 27, 2023, Wemple contacted detectives via text message/or cell phone using cell phone and during these recorded conversations, Wemple was told by the undercover detective that she was 14 years of age. Wemple however, “continued with his sexual-in-nature plans,” officials stated in the affidavit.
After being informed by the undercover detective that she was 14 years of age, Wemple stated “Geez my mind is in turmoil on this … On one hand I would love to keep talking and see what happens on the other I want to run,” the affidavit said.
Wemple then continued to engage in an explicit conversation with the undercover detective before getting an address to meet with what he thought was a 14-year-old girl. Officials noted in the affidavit Wemple furthered the crime in numerous ways by driving to the address and going inside the residence.
He was taken into custody at that time.
A release from Johnson County Sheriff’s Department back in November identified Wemple as one of 21 people arrested during a three-day sting operation.
“Investigators began orchestrating this sting several months ago, resulting in numerous individuals coming to meet what they believed to be a 14- or 15-year-old child,” the sheriff’s office said in a release.
Officials from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Bargersville Police Department, Franklin Police Department, Greenfield Police Department (GPD) and the United States Secret Service orchestrated a sting over several months where the adult individuals involved thought they were there to meet a 14- or 15-year-old child at the 300 block of East County Line Road in Greenwood.
“The only way to protect our citizens is to be proactive, think outside of the box, and have a prosecutor who is willing to go the extra mile,” Johnson County Sheriff Duane E. Burgess said in the release.
Burgess went on to note, “The websites that these people use to have sexual relationships with young people are very disturbing. As Johnson County Sheriff, I would also say that it is quite common for offenders in these cases to have previously explored these locations, met or attempted to meet a minor child for sexual gratification.”
While Wemple was arrested back in November, he has since bonded out and is not listed as an inmate in the Johnson County Jail. Court records do not state yet when he will be back in court for an initial appearance.
