Law enforcement authorities announced today that 139 individuals have been apprehended in a wide-ranging operation spanning five counties. The operation, called “Operation Online Guardian,” was conducted by the Los Angeles Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which comprises personnel from 102 agencies across Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. The Los Angeles Police Department hosted a press conference at their headquarters, where Joseph McNally, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, emphasized the significance of this operation in combatting child exploitation. LAPD Chief Michel Moore, who led the operation, joined other officials in condemning the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.
Chief Moore stressed the urgency of addressing the issue of online predators, highlighting the disturbing number of individuals actively seeking out vulnerable victims and perpetuating the cycle of abuse. The operation involved cooperation from multiple law enforcement agencies, including the LAPD, Glendale Police Department, Long Beach Police Department, Laguna Beach Police Department, Burbank Police Department, Redondo Beach Police Department, Montclair Police Department, San Bernardino Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations.
The LAPD serves as the primary clearing house for all CyberTips pertaining to the five Southern California counties, as notified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. These CyberTips include reports from various internet service providers and concerned citizens detailing incidents involving child sexual abuse material, online sexual exploitation of children, and other related offenses. Operation Online Guardian was carried out between July 10 and 21, with the objective of identifying and apprehending predators who exploit the internet for child sexual abuse, as well as rescuing victims from their clutches.
Over the course of the operation, two phases were executed. In the first phase, undercover investigations were conducted on various social media platforms. The second phase involved the execution of multiple residential search warrants and arrests warrants within the five counties, specifically targeting child predators.
The 139 suspects were apprehended on charges including sodomy of a child under 10 years of age, continuous sexual abuse of a child, lewd acts with a child, meeting a minor for lewd purposes/sex, contact/attempted contact with a minor for sex, sending obscene matter to a child for sex, penetration with a foreign object by force or fear, sodomy, possession of child sexual abuse material, distribution of child sexual abuse material, child annoying, failure to register as a convicted sex offender, violation of parole conditions, and violation of probation conditions. The LAPD expressed gratitude for the unwavering dedication and compassion shown by their investigators throughout this operation, resulting in the rescue of vulnerable children and the restoration of the voices of victims who had endured unspeakable trauma due to child sexual abuse.
The Internet Crimes Against Children Program, developed by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, aims to assist local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in investigating internet-related crimes against young individuals. The ICAC Task Force Program constitutes 61 coordinated task forces and over 5,400 members comprising federal, state, and local law enforcement. The LAPD emphasized that despite the conclusion of Operation Online Guardian, the fight against the sexual exploitation of children remains ongoing, urging the community to offer their support. Community members were encouraged to visit www.Missingkids.org/NetSmartz for internet safety tips and educational activities. Additionally, they could report potential child sexual abuse activity through the “Take it Down” service, available at takeitdown.ncmec.org.
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