109 children rescued, 244 arrested in Operation Soteria Shield, exposing widespread child exploitation in North Texas
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At first glance I thought this was like a home school cult but the truth is even more abhorrent and unimaginable.
Was this roughly 100 families or like a large network for human trafficking? I may be naive but I have trouble believing that either would exist at such a scale.
50,000 minors are trafficked for sex each year.
It is the second most profitable criminal industry.
There are millions upon millions of child sexual abuse material files reported each year.
Human Trafficking Statistics and Facts In 2024 | Our Rescue
From high profile cities in the United States to remote locations around the world, human trafficking is a relatively silent epidemic that impacts communities everywhere.
Our Rescue (ourrescue.org)
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The North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and FBI Dallas’s North Texas Child Exploitation Task Force announce the conclusion of Operation Soteria Shield, a month-long collaborative enforcement effort conducted in April 2025 aimed at rescuing children from online sexual exploitation and bringing perpetrators to justice. This operation was run in conjunction with the National Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and was jointly managed by the FBI Dallas Division, Dallas Police Department, Plano Police Department, Wylie Police Department, and Garland Police Department.
More than 70 Texas law enforcement agencies joined forces throughout the month of April to combat the exploitation of children in the digital space. These agencies leveraged the expertise of highly skilled computer crimes investigators that worked around the clock to identify victims and apprehend offenders engaged in the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material.
Operation Soteria Shield resulted in the rescue of 109 children and the arrest of 244 offenders. In addition to these enforcement actions, investigators seized extensive volumes of digital evidence, including terabytes of illicit data stored on electronic devices that were used in the commission of these crimes. These devices are undergoing forensic analysis and may lead to further arrests and the identification of additional victims.
The title made me think 244 children (and not offenders) were arrested.
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I'd give you 10 to 1 odds that all of these criminals are strident Maga Trump supporters.
They probably work at a church.
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The North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and FBI Dallas’s North Texas Child Exploitation Task Force announce the conclusion of Operation Soteria Shield, a month-long collaborative enforcement effort conducted in April 2025 aimed at rescuing children from online sexual exploitation and bringing perpetrators to justice. This operation was run in conjunction with the National Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and was jointly managed by the FBI Dallas Division, Dallas Police Department, Plano Police Department, Wylie Police Department, and Garland Police Department.
More than 70 Texas law enforcement agencies joined forces throughout the month of April to combat the exploitation of children in the digital space. These agencies leveraged the expertise of highly skilled computer crimes investigators that worked around the clock to identify victims and apprehend offenders engaged in the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material.
Operation Soteria Shield resulted in the rescue of 109 children and the arrest of 244 offenders. In addition to these enforcement actions, investigators seized extensive volumes of digital evidence, including terabytes of illicit data stored on electronic devices that were used in the commission of these crimes. These devices are undergoing forensic analysis and may lead to further arrests and the identification of additional victims.
Now how fast until most of these "illegal" children being exploited are handed over to ICE and deported and then the pardons roll out
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Except perhaps a couple of the children.
I'm guessing the perpetrators would be hiding in plain sight as so-called "devout Christians".
Upstanding, hard-working right wing supporting, bible toting, free speech espousing, minority hating bigots. With not even enough empathy for people other than those that look and believe the same as them to fill a thimble.
People who dehumanise "other" humans
This is exactly where believing that others are less than you and your ilk leads to... A belief that because the other is lesser they don't deserve compassion or respect. That others are just tools for use to make their own life better.
Where it leads is unless you look the same, have the same or better income, looks, power. If they determine you have a "lesser" gender/sex, If their religion says that you are to obey them, then they get to withhold empathy from you.
And these (probably) triple trumpers are now sitting in cells bewildered, wondering why this happened to them, how it could have happened to them.
I think you're right in some cases, but also somewhat attributing malice to stupidity. There are primitive people that are far too scared to risk abandoning their mutually exclusive social support network. They exhibit angst at the unknown and unfamiliar and sway in the direction of fight from their fight or flight mechanism. None of this behavior is within the scope of their self awareness. They exist in a fixated cult like state of tribal ignorance and stupidity, and are wholely incapable of curiosity and learning from sources outside the scope of their tribal isolation.
I was this way before my self awareness grew past the point of reflection. My entire family is like this as are my former and abandoned social support network I am now ostracized from as a result.
This is the actual barrier in place that enables cult like isolation and fixation. Meanwhile, these systems are wholly built upon outsourcing ethics to an organization that only wields shame to keep members in line. Shame can never motivate positive action. Shame can only negatively curb behaviors. Without positive feedback, these systems can only produce depression and negative austere conservative people able to cope with the lack of endorphins. It is truly sadistic in nature. Those that are still out of balance are considered undesirable when their cognitive dissonance pushes back in actions the person may not even understand or register.
Religion is largely a cognitive dissonance factory because of these factors. This does not excuse actions that harm others. But it is this antiquated system of subtle harm in the religious tribal structure and its cult like exclusivity of social network isolation that create people with no independent ethics, unable to learn and reason well, and scared of everything outside of their tiny bubble of a life.
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Not sure what this has to do with technology...
More than 70 Texas law enforcement agencies joined forces throughout the month of April to combat the exploitation of children in the digital space. These agencies leveraged the expertise of highly skilled computer crimes investigators that worked around the clock to identify victims and apprehend offenders engaged in the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material.
“The coordinated efforts of all agencies involved in Operation Soteria Shield serve as a powerful demonstration of unwavering dedication in the battle against online child exploitation. By exposing the darkest corners of the Internet, this operation has targeted predators who seek to harm vulnerable children,” said Wylie Police Chief Anthony Henderson.
The online part. I say this passes for a tech article.
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The title made me think 244 children (and not offenders) were arrested.
I mean, it IS Texas.
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50,000 minors are trafficked for sex each year.
It is the second most profitable criminal industry.
There are millions upon millions of child sexual abuse material files reported each year.
Human Trafficking Statistics and Facts In 2024 | Our Rescue
From high profile cities in the United States to remote locations around the world, human trafficking is a relatively silent epidemic that impacts communities everywhere.
Our Rescue (ourrescue.org)
That's horrifying. What the fuck is wrong with people? I cannot imagine being complicit with any part of the chain of monsters required to construct a profit from this.
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The North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and FBI Dallas’s North Texas Child Exploitation Task Force announce the conclusion of Operation Soteria Shield, a month-long collaborative enforcement effort conducted in April 2025 aimed at rescuing children from online sexual exploitation and bringing perpetrators to justice. This operation was run in conjunction with the National Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and was jointly managed by the FBI Dallas Division, Dallas Police Department, Plano Police Department, Wylie Police Department, and Garland Police Department.
More than 70 Texas law enforcement agencies joined forces throughout the month of April to combat the exploitation of children in the digital space. These agencies leveraged the expertise of highly skilled computer crimes investigators that worked around the clock to identify victims and apprehend offenders engaged in the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material.
Operation Soteria Shield resulted in the rescue of 109 children and the arrest of 244 offenders. In addition to these enforcement actions, investigators seized extensive volumes of digital evidence, including terabytes of illicit data stored on electronic devices that were used in the commission of these crimes. These devices are undergoing forensic analysis and may lead to further arrests and the identification of additional victims.
They’re probably going to hold new elections to replace the republican reps in jail now or they won’t have quorum.
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That's horrifying. What the fuck is wrong with people? I cannot imagine being complicit with any part of the chain of monsters required to construct a profit from this.
I spent way too long researching the morning. That industry implies a much greater population that is attracted to children. Things get more nuanced. People are attracted to different stages, like prebubesant, early adolescence, and mid to late adolescence. It seems like an important distinction because this is a common mental disorder.
I was ready to write this comment about my fear that there's a bunch of evil pedophiles living among us who are simply deterred by legal or social pressures.
It seems more like the extreme stigma of pedophilia has prevented individuals from seeking assistance and has resulted in more child sexual abuse. This sort of disorder can be caused by experiencing this abuse at a younger age.
When I was religious, we worked closely with an organization to help victims of trafficking. We had their stories. They entered our lives. I took care of some of these kids. As a victim of sexual abuse when I was kid, I had a hatred for these kinds of people. I feel like my brain is melting seeing how there is a high chance of people in my life being attracted to children. This isn't really to justify the industry. I'm just realizing that general harassing people openly about it might not be helping the situation.
