COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A total of 88 suspected child sex predators in Colorado were arrested following a two-month operation spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Colorado Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the Colorado Springs Police Department said Tuesday.
The police department itself is responsible for the arrest of 23 of those 88 suspects, a spokesperson for the police department said in a news release. Another 38 of the 88 suspects were arrested in Aurora, the police department in that city announced July 9. Pictures of the suspects involved in those arrests can be viewed here.
During the months of April and May, the state’s ICAC Task Force was part of the DOJ’s “Operation Broken Heart,” a nationally-coordinated effort that targets suspects who produce, distribute, receive, and possess child pornography; engage in online enticement of children for sexual purposes; engage in the sex trafficking of children; and travel across state lines or to foreign countries and sexually abuse children.
The operation also focuses on education about child sex crimes through presentations to both young people and adults.
“Every year, we are proud to take part in this operation and believe it is necessary that we continually take proactive steps in protecting children,” says CSPD Chief Vince Niski. “Because of the hard work put in by all 90 law enforcement agencies over the last two months, the streets of Colorado are that much safer.”
Nationwide, nearly 1,700 suspected online child sex offenders were arrested, according to a DOJ spokesperson.
