Operation Safe Summer Ends with the Arrest of 26 Accused Child Predators

A joint operation of local, state and federal agents cracking down on alleged sexual predators dubbed Operation Safe Summer ended Thursday with 26 men arrested for child porn and child exploitation.

The arrests reached all over Central Florida and even into other states. The so-called predators were supposedly lurking online for minors enjoying their summer vacation.

The undercover sting started in May and ended in late July. The supposed predators arrested were charged with child pornography, traveling to have sex with a minor and other solicitation charges.

An Information Technology worker with Brevard Public Schools, a Lieutenant from the Kentucky State Police and registered sex offenders were a few of the men arrested.

Authorities allegedly found numerous pictures, files and videos of child pornography on the men’s computers.

The summer undercover operation was started by Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative fighting against child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Over the past couple of years, federal, state and local governments have widely increased their efforts to focus on catching sexual predators. Law enforcement officials have witnessed that it is relatively easy to trap someone into committing a sexually-related Internet crime and they know how popular these cases are to prosecute. For these reasons, law enforcement agents pour much time and resources into luring and trapping people via the Internet. Police tactics for cyber-sex traps are generally the same; they visit chat rooms, dating sites or even pornographic sites and entice adults into engaging in sexually explicit conversations.

Most often adults get swindled into these undercover computer sex traps either in a moment of bad judgment or by being the victim of illegal entrapment. If you believe that you have been targeted by an undercover officer, you should contact the experienced Sex Crimes Defense Attorneys at Whittel & Melton immediately. It is never a good idea to just wait until charges have been filed to contact a skilled defense attorney. Early intervention can possibly save you from being arrested and having serious sex crimes charges filed against you.

Online cyber stings can take place on some of the most frequented and largest web sites like Facebook, AOL, Yahoo and more. Once an undercover officer has drummed up a conversation with an unsuspecting adult, they will often introduce incriminating facts about being a minor or even the parent of a minor looking for a sexual relationship. The deception by the officer can continue through a swap of photographs that are not actual pictures of themselves in order to continue the chats and gain more incriminating evidence against the suspect.

If you or someone you know has been accused of a sex crime, or if you think you have been the subject of an online sex trap in Orlando or throughout the state of Florida, contact the Florida Sex Crimes Defense Attorneys at Whittel & Melton online or call our Orlando office toll-free at 866-608-5529.