Federal officials have arrested 205 suspected child sex abuse offenders in a nationwide operation, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
The program, dubbed “Operation Restore Justice,” was carried out over the space of five days with the combined efforts from each of the 55 FBI field offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, according to a news release from the FBI national press office.
The operation also resulted in the rescue of 115 children, according to the FBI.
The suspects are accused of a range of crimes against children, from sex trafficking kids to possessing, producing, and distributing child sex abuse material.
Those arrested in the operation included a Minnesota state trooper who is also an Army reservist. Officials said he is accused of “producing child sexual abuse material while wearing his uniforms.”
“In Norfolk, Virginia, an illegal alien from Mexico is accused of transporting a minor across state lines for sex,” the FBI report added.
And in a case from Washington, D.C., a former Metropolitan Police Department officer was arrested on charges of trafficking minor victims.
In another case, according to the FBI statement, “a California man was arrested about eight hours after a young victim bravely came forward and disclosed their abuse to FBI agents after an online safety presentation at a school near Albany, New York.”
🚨BREAKING: FBI Director Kash Patel announces that federal law enforcement has made 205 arrests of child predators this week alone:
“If you harm children in America, you will be given no sanctuary. There is nowhere you can hide. You will be hunted down, and you will be… pic.twitter.com/9Z0tzM5lNq
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 7, 2025
“We’re sending a clear message: there is no place to hide for those who prey on children,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in the news release.
“No predator is out of reach, and no child will be forgotten.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi added, “We will not rest until we hunt down, arrest, and prosecute every child predator who preys on the most vulnerable among us.”
Bondi stressed the importance of parents monitoring their children’s online activity, according to a Fox News report.
“An online predator can find them, I always say it’s from instant message to instant nightmare,” Bondi said.
“They pose as children. They get them sometimes to post explicit pictures of themselves after they talk to them and then in some cases, they even try to blackmail the children.”
There have been so many cases like that, it has led to an increase in the suicide rate among kids 14 to 17, she said.
The FBI news release added a reminder that an indictment “is merely an allegation,” while the “defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
The agency asked the public to report suspected exploitation of a child on the FBI’s tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), tips.fbi.gov, or by calling a local FBI field office.
Tips about possible child sexual exploitation can also be given through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children through its 24/7 hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST and on missingkids.org.
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