More than two dozen children have been rescued and nearly 60 people are facing criminal charges related to online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, police say.
The North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and FBI Dallas Division’s Child Exploitation Task Force said Friday that from Jan. 16 through Feb. 10 highly skilled computer crimes investigators from agencies around North Texas took part in Operation Janus, an effort to identify and rescue children forced into sexual acts and arrest the abusers who were trafficking images and videos of those acts online.
The operation wrapped up Friday with the rescue of 28 children and the arrest of 59 people who are now facing at least 80 criminal charges. The investigation involved nearly three dozen law enforcement agencies from across North Texas and from as far away as Alaska.
“Operation Janus allowed us to collectively support each other by sharing resources and intelligence to catch predators in the act. It also allowed us to recover children and protect them from further harm,” said FBI Dallas Acting Special Agent in Charge James J. Dwyer.
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Investigators said the alleged list of crimes ranges from meeting victims to possessing harmful material on electronics. NBC 5 has also learned the arrested individuals include paramedics, firefighters, a teacher and a nurse and that some of the victims targeted young children, including infants.
“The people charged as a result of this operation preyed on some of our most vulnerable, our children. I applaud the dedication of these task force groups, including members of the Dallas Police Department, to bring these suspects to justice. We will never stop working to identify, locate and apprehend these predators to make our community safer for our children," said Dallas Chief of Police Eddie Garcia.
Investigators also seized terabytes of data and electronic devices that were being used during the commission of these crimes. The devices are being examined forensically and may lead to the investigation of other offenders and additional charges.
"Our primary goal is to protect children. So we'll go at it from that aspect first. And then the ripple effect of that is we'll catch people that are making these types of offenses. So both forensically, reactively and proactively, we go after these individuals who are exploiting our children," said Detective Jeff Rich, with the Plano Police Department.
Rich said many of the arrests were the result of leads generated through reporting to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Below are those formally charged so far in the operation. Some individuals are in custody but charges are pending.
Additional names and charges are to be released.
The accused listed below are presumed innocent until proven guilty. It's not immediately clear which of the suspects listed below have obtained attorneys.
ilovefacebook on February 18th, 2023 at 23:33 UTC »
there's a father and son arrested, and a church school teacher.
Jabbajaw on February 18th, 2023 at 23:14 UTC »
I have come to realize I will never fully understand humans. Things like this that used to make me angry just make me physically sick as I get older.
Noimnotsally on February 18th, 2023 at 22:53 UTC »
Got them all within a month,great job,put all this scum away for a long time.