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First Responders
Multi-agency effort in Arizona leads to arrest of 72 in child exploitation
City of Phoenix
Officials from the Phoenix Police Department along with others including Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, FBI Phoenix Assistant Special Agent in Charge Matthew Schaeffer attended a press conference Thursday to discuss the results of investigations into child exploitation.
Posted
A multiple-agency effort that started in April resulted in the arrests of 72 people involved child exploitation, officials said Thursday.
Operation Safe Online Summer, led by the Phoenix Police Department, targeted child predators and those involved in distributing child exploitation material.
The effort launched 132 investigations, served 243 search warrants and identified 25 victims of ongoing exploitation including 14 newly identified child victims, officials said in a press release.
Investigations involved examining more than 1,000 devices and combing through 60 terabytes of data. Officials also held 11 community education events during the effort.
“Our department is committed to the safety and well-being of our children and will take appropriate actions to stop predators in our communities,” said Phoenix Police Investigations Division Assistant Chief Ed DeCastro in a press release.
The operation ran through April, but officials said the processing of indictments and arrests remains active.
The effort is part of a national effort headed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Preying on children will not be tolerated and working with our local law enforcement partners to ensure offenders are held accountable and brought to justice is a promise we keep every day,” said FBI Phoenix Assistant Special Agent in Charge Matthew Schaeffer in a press release.
All cases will be reviewed and prosecuted by attorneys working with investigators.
Working with the city of Phoenix were police departments in Gilbert, Goodyear, Scottsdale, Surprise, Sahuarita, Tucson, Tempe, Avondale, Flagstaff, Glendale, Peoria, Chandler, Prescott Valley, Arizona Department of Public Safety, sheriff’s offices in Maricopa, Pima, Pinal, Mohave and Yavapai counties, the FBI, Arizona Attorney General’s Office and Maricopa County Attorney’s office.
