Operation Firewall arrests 341 child predators in Southern California sting — 40 children rescued
A horrifying network of child predators has been smashed by police across Southern California – with 341 alleged pedophiles arrested and at least 40 children rescued in a massive two-week sting.
The sweeping operation, dubbed “Operation Firewall,” targeted offenders across five counties between April 19 and May 3, authorities revealed.
The suspects are accused of crimes including the production, distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material, lewd acts with minors, human trafficking, and attempting to lure children into sex acts.
In one case, a 42-year-old man from the Inland Empire allegedly posed as a teenage football player on Instagram to groom two girls into a sexual relationship.
US Attorney Bill Essayli said the suspect faces federal sex abuse charges – and issued a confronting warning to parents about online chatrooms targeting children.
“I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again – keep your kids off the internet,” he said.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman detailed another disturbing case involving a 33-year-old man accused of selling videos of himself engaging in sexual acts with adults while watching children being sexually abused.
“Some of the children were as young as one-year-old,” Hochman said, adding the suspect faces decades behind bars.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the scale of the crimes reflects a growing surge in online exploitation.
“The scale of these crimes and the exponential increase in reports of online exploitation is appalling,” he said.
“I may be standing here as Chief of Police, but I’m also a father and grandfather. When you hold your child or grandchild, there isn’t anything you wouldn’t do to keep them safe.”
McDonnell issued a direct warning to offenders: “You may believe you can hide in the shadows – understand we are watching. We will not stop.”
Authorities said additional arrests involved registered sex offenders failing to comply with the law, along with parole and probation violations.
Hochman said the task force would continue to act as a “firewall” to protect vulnerable children.
“We will hunt you down,” he warned.
