Operation Child Shield was an undercover investigation that spanned over four months and focused on identifying those dealing with pornographic images of children between the ages of birth and 12 years old. Forty-five people were arrested and fifty warrants were served. Twelve thousand images were seized, resulting in Polk County's largest child pornography investigation. In describing the content of the images, Sheriff Grady Judd stated,
“These images are not just images of children without clothes, these images are horrific displays of children being forced to expose their genitals, forced to perform sexual acts – images of children being raped.”
The undercover investigation began in February 2009 and concluded on May 28, 2009. Of the 45 people arrested, four were juveniles, one age 16 and three age 17. The charges for each suspect were limited to 50 counts of possessing child pornography, and many of the men arrested actually possessed more than 50 images. The official count of approximately 12,000 images also includes movies or video files.
Deputies state that the video files varied in length, with some being only a few seconds long, while some of the confiscated videos had durations up to 90 minutes. The Polk County Sheriff’s Department is a member of the Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, or ICAC. The ICAC specializes in equipping agencies with the tools needed to enhance computer surveillance and identify those who are engaging in illegal possession, trade, or distribution of child pornography.
View Larger Image of Operation Child Shield Arrest Chart Here
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