Eleven Southern California men were arrested late last month by both state and federal authorities for their alleged activity involving child pornography. The arrests were the latest results from “Operation Wide Net,” a sweeping, multi-agency effort to crack down on child porn offenders.
As the Press-Telegram reports, the 11 men came from Long Beach, Chino, Cerritos, Torrance, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Carson, and other local greater Los Angeles suburbs. Their charges and backgrounds also vary: some have a history of child porn offenses while others are apparently facing their first charge. All of them are connected to online file sharing activity and their charges include both receiving and distributing child pornography.
Operation Wide Net is an ongoing, three-year collaboration between the Los Angeles Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the FBI, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and a number of local law enforcement agencies. Over the last three years, the effort has produced more than 100 arrests.
“Those who trade in child pornography inflict great harm on the most vulnerable in our society by re-victimizing the children in the existing pornography as well as by fueling a market that requires new child victims,” U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker wrote in a recent statement concerning the operation. “Operation Wide Net and the scores of other child exploitation cases brought every year by my office demonstrate the Department of Justice’s dual commitments to prosecuting these offenders and to preventing the further abuse of children.”
If you or a loved one has been charged with child pornography, then it is crucial that you move swiftly to retain experienced and effective legal counsel. At Okabe & Haushalter, our aggressive and sought-after Los Angeles sex crime attorneys have successfully navigated cases for our clients in both state and federal court. We understand the challenges and biases the accused face in these cases and bring a thorough and proactive approach to countering the allegations against our clients.
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