The nationwide operation rescued 115 children and 205 suspected sex offenders from California arrested, federal authorities said.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the results of Operational Recovery Justice, a coordinated effort to identify, track and arrest suspected child sex predators around the country.
“Every child deserves to grow freely from fear and exploitation, and the FBI will continue to be relentless in the pursuit of those who exploit the most vulnerable among us,” FBI director Kash Patel said in a statement. “Surgery restoration justice proves that predators are not out of reach and that children will never forget.”
These arrests face a variety of charges, including the production, distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material. Online seduction and transport of minors, and child sex trafficking, authorities said.
During a morning briefing, Patel highlighted several specific accused — a Minneapolis state trooper, an undocumented immigrant arrested in Norfolk, Virginia, a former Washington, D.C., police officer reported.
Although some of the arrested were from California, the Department of Justice refused to say how many people when asked by the Times and instead referred them to the local FBI field office.
The Anchorage FBI office has identified and arrested three men from California on charges of suspected child exploitation or child pornography crimes in the state, authorities said.
In some cases, community outreach efforts played a role in the arrest, authorities said.
The young victim moved forward to FBI agents eight hours after an online safety presentation at a school near Albany, New York, leading to the arrest of a California man, according to a news release.
The coordinated efforts were made over five days by the 55 FBI field offices, the Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Indecency Section, and the U.S. State Attorney’s Office, according to a news release.
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