Jacksonville sheriff: Operation Endgame nets 26 arrests in child-solicitation cases
An extensive multi-agency investigation dubbed Operation Endgame resulted in 26 men arrested on charges of child solicitation and child pornography, according to Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams.
Conducted over five days in June, the undercover operation targeted men "seeking out children for sexual activity in Jacksonville," Williams said.
Joined by the FBI, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, State Attorney's Office and sheriff's offices from St. Johns, Clay, Baker and Wakulla counties, Jacksonville investigators kicked off the investigation on June 23. Their mission was to safeguard the children of Jacksonville and "remove child predators from our streets," Williams said.
"It is prevalent," Williams said during a Tuesday news conference. "We do multiple operations like this every year. ... There's no shortage of suspects in these cases. It's a challenge, but honestly something we can focus on."
Investigators acting undercover as minors worked for five days to identify people who used the internet to solicit minors. They began communicating with the suspects, all men ages 21 to 59, ultimately setting up locations "for various solicited sexual activities," Williams said.
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"Once suspects arrived in their pre-arranged locations, in order to carry out their expected encounter with a minor, they were taken into custody," he said.
Most of the suspects were from Jacksonville, although others ranged from as far away as Kilgore, Texas, Fort Myers and Brunswick, Ga., Williams said.
The suspects were interviewed by Sheriff's Office's Internet Crimes Against Children detectives, then arrested, the sheriff said. Their charges are all second- and third-degree felonies. Potential prison sentences range from five to 15 years behind bars per charge if found guilty and up to 25 years based on some sentencing guidelines, Williams said.
Bad cop: Clay County deputy is sentenced to 35 years in prison for sexually exploiting children
Less than three months ago, a former Jacksonville Sheriff's Office emergency dispatcher was arrested on charges of distributing images and a video of the sexual abuse of children, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Scott Matthew Yotka, 37, faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, as well as a potential life term of supervised release, prosecutors said.
dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Child predator sting: 26 men arrested in Jacksonville
