The online exploitation of children expanded nationally over the last two decades as online technology became more sophisticated. It’s not uncommon to read about a Texas child porn bust that leads to mass arrests.
In Dallas, police arrested 12 men in two weeks over the summer of 2017 as part of an extensive investigation into child pornography traded online.
The arrests were reported to form part of a larger operation targeting crimes against children that netted the arrests of 28 people, 20 of them accused of possession of pornographic images of children.
The Dallas Morning News reported arrest records showed 12 Dallas men were accused of having or sharing child pornography since Aug. 28.
Texas child porn bust led to the arrests of 15
The investigation was carried out under the Protect Our Children Act.
Dallas police work with the North Texas Crimes Against Children Task Force which benefits from $60 million in federal funding a year.
The arrests followed local investments in police departments to help them investigate child pornography offenses.
The Dallas Police Department recently launched its own in-house forensic testing to assist detectives in finding out who places online ads selling children for sex or posts explicit and sexual images of children online.
The Texas child porn bust centered on the Dallas area. It followed a similar operation in Collin County where the sheriff’s department in tandem with other area police departments arrested 15 men following a week-long investigation into the sexual exploitation of children.
A report on a CBS affiliate noted Operation Medusa led to the arrests of men charged with crimes ranging from promoting child pornography to online solicitation of a minor.
Under the investigation carried out in the spring, investigators seized hard drives and other electronic devices allegedly used in the commission of the child pornography crimes for forensic examination.
Additional arrests may follow once the information is analyzed, Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner told the media.
Typically, child pornography busting operations see many agencies joining forces. In the operation centered on Collin County, Allen police, Collin County District Attorney’s Office, Frisco police, Dallas police, the FBI, Garland police, Grand Prairie, McKinney, Mesquite, Murphy, Plano, Sherman, and Wylie police departments joined forces along with Texas DPS, and the United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District.
Child pornography crimes are taken very seriously and carry heavy sentences. If you have been charged with an offense of this nature, call our Texas criminal defense lawyers at (512) 399-2311