A nationwide operation resulted in the rescue of 115 children and the arrest of 205 alleged sex offenders, several of them from California, according to federal authorities.
The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday announced the results of “Operation Restore Justice,” a coordinated effort to identify, track and arrest suspected child sex predators across the country.
“Every child deserves to grow up free from fear and exploitation, and the FBI will continue to be relentless in our pursuit of those who exploit the most vulnerable among us,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. “Operation Restore Justice proves that no predator is out of reach and no child will be forgotten.”
Those arrested face varying charges, including production, distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material; online enticement and transportation of minors, and child sex trafficking, authorities said.
During a morning briefing, Patel highlighted a few specific defendants — including a state trooper from Minneapolis, an undocumented immigrant arrested in Norfolk, Va., and a former Washington, D.C., police officer, the Washington Post reported.
Several of those arrested were from California, but the Justice Department declined to say how many when asked by The Times, instead referring inquiries to local FBI field offices.
The FBI office in Anchorage identified and arrested three men — including one from California — on charges of committing alleged child exploitation or child pornography crimes in the state, authorities said.
In some cases, community outreach efforts played a role in an arrest, authorities said.
A young victim came forward to an FBI agent eight hours after an online safety presentation at a school near Albany, N.Y., which led to the arrest of a California man, according to a news release.
The coordinated effort was conducted over the course of five days by all 55 FBI field offices, the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and U.S. state attorneys’ offices, according to a news release.
