Over two dozen child predators were arrested and 19 children were rescued after a months-long operation targeting the distribution of child sexual abuse material in Texas.
The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said “Operation Hydra” saw the arrests of and charging of 28 pedophile child predators with crimes related to the sexual exploitation of children.
“This operation is a stark reminder of the realities of child sexual exploitation and the proliferation of child sexual abuse material on the internet, and the need for proactive measures to address these crimes against our children,” the DA’s office said in a news release.
Detectives monitored chat groups on social media and identified child predators who allegedly participated in distributing child sexual abuse material.
The suspects arrested were from 17 states, the DA said.
As fox26houston reported:
Authorities say the defendants are from 17 states and made child sexual abuse material available in Montgomery County.
During the operation, the DA’s office says, detectives also rescued 19 children who had been sexually abused or exploited.
As part of the operation, detectives with the Montgomery County division of the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force monitored chat groups on social media for 12 months.
The defendants participated in groups chats that were dedicated to distributing child sexual abuse material, and most of them posted illicit images to the groups, the DA’s office says.
Some of them allegedly acted as administrators of the groups and controlled who could access them.
Detectives worked with authorities in other jurisdictions to apprehend the defendants.
Officials say the Montgomery County Pct spearheaded the operation. 1 Constable’s Office and the DA’s Office, along with support from the Montgomery County Constables’ Offices, Precinct 2, Precinct 3, Precinct 4 and Precinct 5, the Conroe Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
The number of cyber tips investigated by the task force is increasing.
It’s from 770 in 2013 to more than 10,000 in 2022.
“We’ve seen with these cases that it doesn’t matter what community you come from, doesn’t matter what job your parents have or how poor or affluent you are. Anybody can be a victim to these predators,” Sgt. Brandon Gayman said.
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