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109 children rescued, 244 arrested in Operation Soteria Shield, exposing widespread child exploitation in North Texas

Technology
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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 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.

    I'd give you 10 to 1 odds that all of these criminals are strident Maga Trump supporters.

  • I'd give you 10 to 1 odds that all of these criminals are strident Maga Trump supporters.

    Who'd be dumb enough to take that bet?

  • Who'd be dumb enough to take that bet?

    Other trump supporters

  • I'd give you 10 to 1 odds that all of these criminals are strident Maga Trump supporters.

    And not a single trans person either I'd bet.

  • 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.

    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.

  • I'd give you 10 to 1 odds that all of these criminals are strident Maga Trump supporters.

    And that the kids probably have Latino last names. There's a lot of children without parents going into the system. Don't let a pedophile become president kids.

  • 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.

    Not sure what this has to do with technology...

  • I'd give you 10 to 1 odds that all of these criminals are strident Maga Trump supporters.

    Facts.

    Just like that other guy who was torturing baby monkeys in a blender had a gigantic trump maga flag right next to a confederate flag in his home.

    It's always the ones you most expect.

  • 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.

    For a country the size of the us a hunderd is a very small amount.

    There are troubled teen services where parents pay to have their “problem” kids “legaly” abducted to send to reeducation camps. Suprise suprise they return with ptsd and tell stories of both torture and other abuse. Those “legal” institutions can have 100+ kids enrolled any given time.

    I am also sure you heard of Epstein. These horrors definitely exist on very big scales with huge network as fucked up as that is.

  • And not a single trans person either I'd bet.

    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.

  • Not sure what this has to do with technology...

    They lurk on the internet?

  • 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.

    Funny Tim Ballard and OAR is nowhere to be seen

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • I'd give you 10 to 1 odds that all of these criminals are strident Maga Trump supporters.

    They probably work at a church.

  • 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

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • The title made me think 244 children (and not offenders) were arrested.

    I mean, it IS Texas.

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    bahnd@lemmy.worldB
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    (Premise - suppose I accept that there is such a definable thing as capitalism) I'm not sure why you feel the need to state this in a discussion that already assumes it as a necessary precondition of, but, uh, you do you. People blaming capitalism for everything then build a country that imports grain, while before them and after them it’s among the largest exporters on the planet (if we combine Russia and Ukraine for the “after” metric, no pun intended). ...what? What does this have to do with literally anything, much less my comment about innovation/competition? Even setting aside the wild-assed assumptions you're making about me criticizing capitalism means I 'blame [it] for everything', this tirade you've launched into, presumably about Ukraine and the USSR, has no bearing on anything even tangentially related to this conversation. People praising capitalism create conditions in which there’s no reason to praise it. Like, it’s competitive - they kill competitiveness with patents, IP, very complex legal systems. It’s self-regulating and self-optimizing - they make regulations and do bailouts preventing sick companies from dying, make laws after their interests, then reactively make regulations to make conditions with them existing bearable, which have a side effect of killing smaller companies. Please allow me to reiterate: ...what? Capitalists didn't build literally any of those things, governments did, and capitalists have been trying to escape, subvert, or dismantle those systems at every turn, so this... vain, confusing attempt to pin a medal on capitalism's chest for restraining itself is not only wrong, it fails to understand basic facts about history. It's the opposite of self-regulating because it actively seeks to dismantle regulations (environmental, labor, wage, etc), and the only thing it optimizes for is the wealth of oligarchs, and maybe if they're lucky, there will be a few crumbs left over for their simps. That’s the problem, both “socialist” and “capitalist” ideal systems ignore ape power dynamics. I'm going to go ahead an assume that 'the problem' has more to do with assuming that complex interacting systems can be simplified to 'ape (or any other animal's) power dynamics' than with failing to let the richest people just do whatever they want. Such systems should be designed on top of the fact that jungle law is always allowed So we should just be cool with everybody being poor so Jeff Bezos or whoever can upgrade his megayacht to a gigayacht or whatever? Let me say this in the politest way I know how: LOL no. Also, do you remember when I said this? ‘Won’t someone please think of the billionaires’ is wearing kinda thin You know, right before you went on this very long-winded, surreal, barely-coherent ramble? Did you imagine I would be convinced by literally any of it when all it amounts to is one giant, extraneous, tedious equivalent of 'Won't someone please think of the billionaires?' Simp harder and I bet maybe you can get a crumb or two yourself.