In a press release Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced that it had arrested over 2,300 child pornographers and child sex abusers in the large-scale sting “Operation Broken Heart.”
The DOJ announced in a press release:
The Department of Justice today announced the arrest of more than 2,300 suspected online child sex offenders during a three-month, nationwide, operation conducted by Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces. The task forces identified 195 offenders who either produced child pornography or committed child sexual abuse, and 383 children who suffered recent, ongoing, or historical sexual abuse or production of child pornography.
The 61 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.
According to VOA News, federal authorities arrested suspects who were allegedly using the internet to lure children into sex trafficking with some victims being forced over state lines and even sold internationally.
“No child should ever have to endure sexual abuse,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
“We at the Department of Justice are determined to strike back against these repugnant crimes,” he added. “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,” he concluded.