205 arrests made by Task Force on Child Sexual Exploitation

LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Authorities said Monday that 205 arrests were made during “Operation Online Guardian,” a multi-agency effort in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties targeting child sex offenders who sexually exploit minors over the Internet.

The operation was conducted from Aug. 12 to Aug. 23 by personnel assigned to the Los Angeles Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Alan Hamilton said during a news conference at LAPD headquarters Monday morning.

The ICAC Task Force program was developed by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Hamilton said.

“The mission of the ICAC Task Force Program is to assist local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in investigating Internet-related crimes against our youth,” Hamilton said. “Currently, the ICAC Task Force Program consists of 61 coordinated task forces and more than 5,400 federal, state and local law enforcement members.”

The Los Angeles Regional ICAC Task Force, led by the LAPD, covers Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and is comprised of 102 member agencies, Hamilton said.

The LAPD ICAC Unit is the lead agency and primary reporting point for all CyberTips related to the five Southern California counties received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

“The CyberTips include reports from various internet service providers and members of the public reporting incidents involving the possession, distribution and production of child abuse material and the online sexual exploitation of children,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton said that during the weeks of August 12 through August 23, 2024, the LA ICAC Task Force conducted Operation Online Guardian, a multi-agency operation aimed at identifying and arresting child sex offenders who use the Internet to facilitate child sexual abuse and rescuing children from such sex offenders.

Hamilton said the operation was carried out in two phases:

— The first phase involved proactive undercover investigations on various social media platforms.

— The second phase involved the service of multiple search warrants in the five counties, in addition to arrest warrants, primarily targeting child abusers.

The LA ICAC Task Force was comprised of personnel from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Gang and Narcotics Unit, and various Los Angeles Police Department vice units.

Arrests were made for offences including:

— Sodomy of a child under 10 years of age;

–Continued sexual abuse of a child;

— Immoral acts with a child;

— Meeting a minor for indecent purposes/sex;

— Contacting/attempting to contact a minor for sex;

— Sending obscene material to a child for sex;

— Penetration with a foreign object through force or fear;

— Sodomy;

— Possession of child abuse material;

— Distribution of child sexual abuse material;

— Child annoying;

— Failure to register as a convicted sex offender;

— Violation of the conditions of parole; and

— Violation of the terms of the probationary period.

According to Hamilton, specific arrest figures for individual counties are not immediately available.

Although Operation Online Guardian has concluded, Hamilton promised that the LA ICAC Task Force will remain vigilant and continue its mission to protect children.

He urged parents and caregivers to educate themselves and their children about the dangers of the Internet, monitor their children’s Internet usage and engage in open dialogue with them.

For more information, visit www.Missingkids.org/NetSmartz for educational Internet safety tips and activities.

The community can report potential child sexual abuse and have the harmful content removed through the ‘Take it Down’ service hosted at www.takeitdown.ncmec.org.