Over 1,000 Arrested After Nationwide Child Predator Investigation

Keep Reading ↓

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has announced that a nationwide operation involving 69,000 child sex predator investigations has resulted in the arrest of 1,012 suspected child predators from more than 40 states.

The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) made the arrests over a 2-month period, according to officials.

The arrests have marked the end of Operation Broken Heart, an investigative operation aimed at intensifying efforts to identify and to arrest suspected child sexual predators. The investigation ran between April and May of this year.

The following suspects were targeted. Those who:

• possess, manufacture and distribute child pornography
• engage in online enticement of children for sexual purposes
• engage in the commercial sexual exploitation or prostitution of children
• engage in child sex tourism – traveling abroad for the purpose of sexually abusing children in other countries

“As technology and social media evolve, predators are quick to figure out how they can use these new tools to reach – and exploit – our children,” said OJJDP Acting Administrator Eileen Garry. “Our greatest strength on this ever-changing battlefield is the partnerships we have with federal, state, and local agencies. Our combined efforts across jurisdictional, state, and even national boundaries make both the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force program and Operation Broken Heart effective.”

The ICAC Task Force also gave 1,245 presentations on Internet safety to over 99,000 youth and adults in April and May.

Since the launch of the force in 1998, the task force has reviewed 705,963 child exploitation complaints, which has resulted in 75,688 arrests.

Amazing work!