The Department of Justice has announced the results of Operation Restore Justice, a sweeping five-day enforcement campaign aimed at identifying and arresting child sex predators across the country. The operation led to the arrest of 205 individuals and the rescue of 115 children.
The nationwide effort was coordinated across all 55 FBI field offices and supported by the Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), along with U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide.
“The Department of Justice will never stop fighting to protect victims — especially child victims — and we will not rest until we hunt down, arrest, and prosecute every child predator who preys on the most vulnerable among us,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “I am grateful to the FBI and their state and local partners for their incredible work in Operation Restore Justice and have directed my prosecutors not to negotiate.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency would remain “relentless” in pursuing those who exploit children. “Operation Restore Justice proves that no predator is out of reach and no child will be forgotten,” Patel said. “By leveraging the strength of all our field offices and our federal, state and local partners, we’re sending a clear message: there is no place to hide for those who prey on children.”
The arrests include a range of alleged offenses such as production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material, online enticement of minors, and child sex trafficking. Among those arrested were a state trooper and Army Reservist in Minneapolis accused of producing abuse material while in uniform, an illegal alien in Norfolk charged with transporting a minor across state lines for sex, and a former Washington, D.C. police officer accused of trafficking minors.
Officials also credited vigilant parents and proactive community outreach with aiding in the operation. One California man was apprehended just eight hours after a young victim came forward following an online safety presentation at a school in upstate New York.
