Month-long ICE crackdown nets 190 child porn suspects; 18 victims rescued

[Toler]

June 8 '12
Federal agents targeting child pornography offenses say they arrested 190 people in May and rescued 18 children who were being victimized by the accused perpetrators, in a stepped-up focus on these crimes.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, which investigates a wide range of crimes that cross state or national borders, is one of the main federal agencies — along with the FBI — to handle child porn and exploitation investigations. That includes tracking perpetrators who use the Internet to lure or meet child victims, to persuade them to send nude pictures to produce porn or to receive or distribute child pornography.

The targeted operation coincides with the end of the school year, said ICE spokesman Dani Bennett.
 
"From our perspective the summer months are times when kids are not in school and many have unsupervised access to the Internet," said Bennett. "It’s a good time to remind parents that the person they are chatting with may not be the person they are chatting with. ... Every social network, every wonderful tool the Internet provides can be exploited."
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http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/08/12125265-month-long-ice-crackdown-nets-190-child-porn-suspects-18-victims-rescued?lite

[klaasend]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/08/feds-arrest-10-alleged-child-predators-in-massive-undercover-operation/?test=latestnews

Feds arrest 190 alleged child predators in massive undercover operation

Published June 08, 2012

FoxNews.com

URGENT: Nearly 200 child predators have been arrested and 18 victims rescued in a nationwide undercover operation, federal authorities announced Friday.

The month-long investigation -- called "Operation Orion" -- was conducted in May by special agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations unit.

The operation targeted individuals who "possessed, received, transported, distributed, advertised or produced images or videos of child pornography," ICE officials said in a press release Friday. 

The investigation led to the arrests of 190 alleged child predators. The majority of the arrests were made in the U.S., though authorities said individuals in Spain, the Philippines, Argentina and the United Kingdom were also taken into custody.
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