MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — Federal and local law enforcement officials gathered at the Martin County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday to announce the results of a joint operation targeting online child predators.
The initiative, named “All Tricks No Treat,” resulted in the arrest of six individuals accused of attempting to have sexual contact with children, with more arrests expected. The announcement comes as Florida laws recently increased the penalties for these crimes and limited the defense options for offenders.
The operation involved undercover agents posing as children on online platforms to draw out suspected predators, leading to six arrests. Half of those arrested were foreign nationals from Guatemala, Canada, and Russia. Sheriff John Budensiek emphasized that this is just the beginning of the crackdown.
“We are going to come and arrest you and bring you right back here so Mr. Bakkedahl can hold true to his promise, which he always does, and make sure you go to jail. So, keep your doors unlocked, or we’ll kick them down anyway. Come in and get you,” Sheriff Budensiek stated.
The Sheriff says his detectives are working to arrest 12 more suspects, some of whom are as far away as Connecticut and Texas.
Attorney General James Uthmeier emphasized the issue of immigration status among the arrested.
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“Every time we do one of these announcements, we’re again looking at a disproportionately high number of illegal aliens that are defendants. Every time we do one of these. Many individuals are people that are here illegally going after our kids,” Uthmeier said.
This local announcement follows a statement from the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, that over 150 arrests were made statewide for illegal aliens convicted of sex crimes against minors.
The arrests follow a sweeping change in state laws that dole out harsher punishments for child sex crimes, specifically targeting sex traffickers. Thomas Bakkedahl, State Attorney for the 19th Judicial Circuit, commented on implementing the new legislation in these cases.
“We’re just going to aggressively enforce those. The legislature has given us the tools we simply now need to bring them to bear upon these people,” Bakkedahl said.
Other agencies, including Homeland Security and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), spoke on the importance of these collaborative efforts in enhancing child safety.
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