Florida police arrest 23 suspected child predators and traffickers through online sting

By Morgan Phillips

Florida deputies arrested 23 suspected child predators and human traffickers during a recent four-day sting operation, all of which used online applications to seek out children, police said, according to Fox 13.

“Operation Intercept VII” targeted people who allegedly traveled to the county to meet minors for sex. The suspects arrested were between the ages of 21 and 77.

Those arrested allegedly responded to online ads, apps and social media websites, believing they were talking to children, but those "children" were actually undercover detectives. Police say one man sent over 90 sexually explicit photos to the detective.

The detectives provided an address for meet-ups, where authorities would be waiting. Deputies said several men brought condoms, one brought candy and one brought a sex toy.

“I wish I could say these operations were no longer needed but time and time again, even after we make dozens of arrests, these men keep coming back for more,” Sarasota County Sheriff Knight said in a press conference, according to Fox 13. “In this digital world we live in, innocent children are far too accessible to predators. That is why, as parents, we have to get serious about prevention. Parents are the first line of defense and we will never stop reminding our community of that.”

The sheriff’s office previously released a list of 15 apps about which parents should be leery. The apps, officials said, are often used by predators looking for children.

On Friday, investigators added yet more apps to that list.

The list included common dating apps such as Bumble, Grindr, Plenty of Fish and Zoosk. It also included messaging apps such as Snapchat, Whatsapp and Kik, and TikTok, an app beloved by Gen Z which allows users to create and share short videos.

Following the arrest of another 23 men for traveling to meet a child for sex, we are re-releasing our list of #AppsParentsShouldKnowAbout. During our latest initiative, #OperationInterceptVII, 23 men utilized apps including Plenty of Fish, HILY, MocoSpace and Zoosk to connect with boys and girls who they believed were 14-YEARS-OLD. Also new to our list is an app called "Monkey" - it is rated for kids "12 and up" but also has "mild sexual content and nudity."

PARENTS: WE WILL KEEP UPDATING THIS LIST SO LONG AS THESE MOBILE APPS ARE UTILIZED BY PEOPLE WHO WANT TO PREY ON YOUR CHILDREN. LOOK THROUGH YOUR CHILD'S PHONE. PREVENTION STARTS IN THE HOME.

82 juvenile sex-trafficking victims rescued, 67 suspects arrested in nationwide FBI sting:

By Gabrielle Moreira

WASHINGTON - The FBI conducted a monthlong sweep known as Operation Independence Day that targeted sex traffickers and helped save minors across the country, the agency announced Thursday.

The sting happened in July and resulted in the identification of 21 minors, rescue of 82 minors and arrest of 67 suspected traffickers. It also prompted 60 federal investigations.

“The FBI is fiercely focused on recovering child victims and arresting the sex traffickers who exploit them,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “Through operations like this, the FBI helps child victims escape the abusive life of sex trafficking.”

A sex-trafficking suspect is in handcuffs during Operation Independence Day in the Houston area. (Photo credit: FBI / Houston Police Department)

A sex-trafficking suspect is in handcuffs during Operation Independence Day in the Houston area. (Photo credit: FBI / Houston Police Department)

FBI agents relied on more than 400 law enforcement agencies working on the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces in each of the 56 field offices for the bureau. The sweep included undercover operations.

In total 161 operations were conducted around the country, according to the agency, and 33 field offices helped recover or ID the juveniles.

Here are the number of recoveries or identifications from each area:

Albuquerque: 1

Atlanta: 6

Boston: 1

Buffalo: 1

Charlotte: 3

Chicago: 2

Cincinnati: 1

Cleveland: 2

Columbia: 2

Dallas: 13

Detroit: 9

Denver: 4

Honolulu: 1

Houston: 3

Jacksonville: 1

Kansas City: 2

Knoxville: 2

Las Vegas: 14

Little Rock: 1

Los Angeles: 4

Memphis: 2

Miami: 1

Milwaukee: 1

New Haven: 1

New Orleans: 1

Portland: 4

Richmond: 1

Sacramento: 1

San Antonio: 4

San Diego: 4

San Francisco: 2

Seattle: 6

Washington Field: 2

The FBI said that it worked with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to identify young runaways and missing children and juveniles who might have been trafficked.

In the past, FBI agents conducted weeklong sweeps nationwide under the name Operation Cross Country. But this year, FBI officers had a longer window to plan and coordinate operations as part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative.

The agency said the goal with Operation Independence Day was to “develop richer leads and intelligence, and more robust cases.”

The FBI, NCMEC and the Department of Justice’s Child and Exploitation and Obscenity Section launched that initiative in 2003 to combat sex trafficking in the U.S. Since then, the 86 task forces associated with the program have led to the recovery and identification of more than 6,600 child victims and more than 2,700 criminal convictions of traffickers.

One major aspect of the trafficking cases is the placement of victim specialists on operational teams, the agency said. The mission of those specialists is to give victims the resources to help them in their situation. But those specialists also serve as mediators between “victim-witnesses” and investigators.

“Our agents, intelligence analysts, professional staff and victim specialists work tirelessly before, during and after these operations to make sure that victims get the help they need to reclaim their lives,” Wray said.


This story was reported from Los Angeles.

Sex-trafficking sting rescues nearly 160 children, authorities say

By Mike PetchenikOperation Safe Summer was a collaborative effort between the FBI’s Atlanta field office and 38 law enforcement agencies in six metro counties, assistant Special Agent in Charge Matt Alcoke told WSB-

“They are crimes of special concern to the FBI and to law enforcement generally,” Alcoke said. “Because the victims are so vulnerable as children and because the offenders could be from just about any walk of life, from a gang member all the way up to someone who is highly successful and wealthy.”

The sting ended with nearly 160 children rescued, including one as young as 3 years old, and nearly 150 arrests, convictions or sentences, officials said.

Alcoke said the operation was scheduled before the summer months as a way to put a dent in a trade that preys on children at a time when they have more freedom.

“It’s important for those of us who are responsible for the children, the parents, the guardians, the older siblings, to not let children fall away (from) those strongly centered circles of importance,” Alcoke said.

Among those charged, Alcoke said Trevey Parks was a convicted sex offender out of prison who forced a juvenile to work in the sex trade for him.

“Trevey Parks is one of the worst of the worst,” Alcoke said. “He enticed a child to travel for sex with him. He was ultimately arrested in a joint effort by us and the local police."

In Alpharetta, Georgia, police told Petchenik they arrested several suspected pimps and prostitutes and rescued one teenager who’d been forced into sexual servitude.

“A lot of people don’t realize these things happen here,” department spokesman Howard Miller told Petchenik.

Miller said detectives scoured the internet for evidence of prostitution and then moved in to make arrests, but he said it’s been getting more difficult.

“Backpage has been taken down. A lot these pages will pop up and be available for a few days. They’ll have the types of information and the people available on it, our agents will take a look at that and start their investigation and before they know it, the page is down,” Miller said.