Federal and International, Law and Order

More Than 2,300 Suspected Online Child Sex Offenders Arrested During Operation “Broken Heart”


Department of Justice
(Source: justice.gov)
Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—June 12, 2018
By: Rosemary Piser

The Department of Justice announced the arrest of more than 2,300 suspected online child sex offenders. The 61 Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces, located in all 50 states and comprised of more than 4,500 federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies, led the coordinated operation known as “Broken Heart” during the months of March, April, and May 2018.  During the course of the operation, the task forces investigated more than 25,200 complaints of technology-facilitated crimes against children and delivered more than 3,700 presentations on Internet safety to over 390,000 youth and adults.

At today’s announcement Attorney General Jeff Sessions said, “No child should ever have to endure sexual abuse. And yet, in recent years, certain forms of modern technology have facilitated the spread of child pornography and created greater incentives for its production. We at the Department of Justice are determined to strike back against these repugnant crimes. It is shocking and very sad that in this one operation, we have arrested more than 2,300 alleged child predators and investigated some 25,200 sexual abuse complaints. Any would-be criminal should be warned: this Department will remain relentless in hunting down those who victimize our children.”

The operation targeted suspects who:

  • Produce, distribute, receive and possess child pornography;
  • Engage in online enticement of children for sexual purposes;
  • Engage in the sex trafficking of children; and
  • Travel across state lines or to foreign countries and sexually abuse children.

For additional information, visit the ICAC Task Force webpage at: https://www.icactaskforce.org.

For state-level Operation Broken Heart results, please contact the appropriate state ICAC task force commander. Contact information for task force commanders are available online at: https://www.icactaskforce.org/Pages/ContactsTaskForce.aspx.

Source: www.justice.gov

 


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