27 men arrested in undercover online child predator operation

The undercover operation, led by the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, went on for four days, leading to the arrests of men trying to engage in sexual activity with who they believed were children.

“As we have seen the number of Cybertips dramatically increase this year, it is clear that online predators remain a serious threat to our children,” said Prosecutor O’Malley. “Hopefully the success of yet another operation serves as a stern warning to offenders that you will be found, you will be arrested, and you will be prosecuted.”

The ages of the men arrested ranged from 21 to 61-years-old. Officials said they engaged in sexually explicit online conversations with undercover officers posing as children through popular social media apps.

The men expressed an interest in engaging in sexual activity with the officers posing as children and/or sent nude pictures during the online conversations.

After the conversations, the men went to a location where they thought they were meeting with the underage children. When they arrived, they were arrested by law enforcement officers and taken to the Cuyahoga County Jail.

Several of the men were in possession of firearms, condoms, personal lubricant, sex toys, and drugs.

Initial charges were filed against those arrested, including attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, importuning, and possessing criminal tools. WLWT