By STEPHEN DAWKINS / Special to the Reporter

A Jemison resident is being held in the Jefferson County Jail after he was arrested Jan. 7 in Shelby County on criminal complaints of enticing minors for sex.

Cameron Lee Emerick, who was born in January 1990, allegedly arranged to meet who he thought were a 14-year-old girl and an 11-year-old girl on Jan. 7 at a hospital in Shelby County but instead was arrested by agents with U.S. Department Homeland Security Investigations unit.

As of Jan. 20, authorities were unable to verify the hospital at which the arrest occurred. The Alabaster Police Department played no role in the arrest, said department Deputy Chief Curtis Rigney.

Emerick, who was employed as a Chilton County E-911 dispatcher at the time of the arrest, is being held in Jefferson County Jail with no bond. The suspect is listed as a “federal transient,” according to jail staff, meaning he is set to be transferred to another location.

The two counts of criminal complaints against Emerick were filed by Suzanne Prevatte, senior special agent with the Department of Homeland Security, in the courtroom of Chief United States Magistrate Judge Paul W. Greene.

According to an affidavit signed by Prevatte and provided by the U.S. District Attorney’s office, Emerick, through correspondence with undercover agents, confirmed he was willing to pay to engage in sexual activities with underage females.

The correspondence began on Oct. 22, 2010 and continued until the day of the arrest.

According to Jefferson County Jail records, Emerick lived at 134 Darryl St. in Jemison.

The affidavit states Emerick waived his Miranda rights after his arrest and confessed to the crimes verbally and through a written statement, but Emerick’s attorney, Glennon Threatt Jr., said his client denies the charges.

“He’s a 20-year-old man that has no criminal history,” Threatt said. “He looks forward to being vindicated in court.”

Federal charges could be brought against Emerick because, according to the criminal complaint, he used “a facility and means of interstate commerce” in the form of the Internet and a telephone.

Emerick’s case will be brought at a later date before a grand jury, which will decide whether to bring a formal indictment.

Emerick’s supervisor, 911 Director Helen Smith, said he was hired on Sept. 7.

Smith said Emerick’s employment would officially be terminated, for failure to appear at work, as soon as she was able to contact him.

Emerick also was previously a member of the Jemison Fire and Rescue Department.