More than 300 suspects have been arrested in a sweeping multi-agency crackdown on child exploitation crimes across Southern California, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced Thursday.
The large-scale enforcement effort, dubbed "Operation Firewall," targeted a wide range of internet-facilitated offenses, including child pornography, human trafficking, grooming, and attempts to lure minors into illicit encounters.
Authorities said the two-week operation — which ran from April 19 through May 3 — spanned five counties and brought together 112 law enforcement partners. The effort was led by the LAPD Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program.
In total, the operation resulted in 341 arrests and the rescue of 40 children, officials said.
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"Operation Firewall was designed to identify and apprehend predators who use the internet to facilitate the sexual exploitation and abuse of children, while also identifying and rescuing those children from their abusers," LAPD said.
Investigators conducted undercover operations across multiple social media platforms, followed by the execution of numerous search and arrest warrants, police said.
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One arrest resulted in a 45-year prison sentence for 42-year-old Daniel Navarro, who allegedly groomed two girls on Instagram and trafficked one to Mexico. He allegedly posed as a teenage boy and football player to entice his victims.
Over 150,000 illicit images were also uncovered, following an investigation into a Long Beach resident suspected of producing child sexual abuse material, Fox 11 Los Angeles said.
Authorities said charges span a broad range of offenses, including production, possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material; lewd acts with a child; contacting a minor for sexual purposes; human trafficking; failure to register as a convicted sex offender; and violations of parole and probation conditions.
Many of the victims have reportedly been reunited with their families or placed under the care of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
Law enforcement leaders used the operation to deliver a blunt warning to parents about the dangers of online grooming, saying predators often target children through digital platforms rather than in person.
"Get your kids off the internet. Nothing good comes from it. Most of the exploitation we're seeing today, they are not meeting these people out in the park or on the street. They are meeting your kids and they are grooming them online," U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said, according to Fox 11.
"If you were a parent, you would never walk your child physically into a room and leave them alone with a predator or a pedophile. Yet every day, parents hand their kids electronic device that gives them digital access into online gaming platforms or digital chat rooms... My message to parents, that the Fourth Amendment does not apply to you. Get in your kids' stuff," Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes added, according to the outlet.
Officials also highlighted the notorious "764" group, described as an online nihilistic violent extremist network that targets vulnerable minors online and coerces them into self-harm and explicit content, Fox 11 said.
