Theodore Perez, 29, of Santa Ana, California, was arrested by HSI special agents May 1 when he arrived at South Coast Plaza to meet a 12-year-old girl he met on Facebook, according to Homeland Security. In text messages and telephone conversations with undercover HSI agents who had assumed the girl’s identity, Perez allegedly indicated he wanted to commit multiple lewd acts with the child, Homeland said. Perez has been charged in state court with enticing a minor to commit lewd acts and is be
A joint effort by two federal agencies netted a massive number of alleged child predators.
A reported 190 sexual predators were captured and 18 children were saved in the month-long operation, according to a Homeland Security news release sent to The Huffington Post.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents worked together on the operation, which was aimed at finding individuals who possessed, received, transported, distributed, advertised or produced images or videos of child pornography, the release said.
Most of the May arrests were made in America, but there were also suspects
apprehended in Spain, the Philippines, Argentina and the United Kingdom, the release said.
Those arrested included 54-year-old Thomas Wright, who is accused of making and possessing child pornography. Wright allegedly convinced a minor to "participate with him in illegal sexual conduct" while Wright photographed the encounters. He also allegedly secretly filmed the minor during other sexual acts.
Cedric Conner, 35, was arrested for allegedly assaulting a 7-year-old child he babysat.
"Let this operation be a warning to anyone who would think they can use the Internet to exploit children," ICE Director John Morton said in the release. "We are out there looking for you, we will find you, and you will be prosecuted."
No comments:
Post a Comment