The FBI had a successful week in taking down child predators, rescuing children across the country, FBI Director Kash Patel told agents in this week’s internal update.
“The FBI has made significant strides in protecting children from online predators,” Patel said in the weekly update, highlighting how the agency has protected children from violent predators.
FBI Dallas announced the results of Operation Setoria, Patel said, describing it as a joint operation with partners in the Lone Star State. He revealed they rescued 87 children and arrested 273 individuals.
It does not end there, either.
“FBI New Haven arrested an individual who repeatedly sexually abused and exploited an innocent child. and thanks to FBI Chicago for securing a 150-year sentence for a child predator who exploited numerous children,” Patel said.
“FBI Detroit also recently secured a guilty plea from a former doctor for possessing child sexual abuse material – stemming from a separate investigation with our local partners in Toledo. Thanks to our teams for aggressively pursuing the case,” he continued, noting that FBI Nashville also “secured an indictment against a subject affiliated with the violent 764 network – who collected CSAM and explicit photos of minors online and allegedly travelled to abuse his victims.”
The work of FBI Houston, he continued, resulted in the 33 year prison sentence for a man who targeted and exploited over 100 children. According to Patel, he used social media accounts to “demand they engage in sexually explicit conduct.”
The FBI chief also highlighted the results from “Operation Rare Beef” in FBI Buffalo and others, taking down violent criminals.
“While there is more to come related to this op, so far Buffalo has arrested three subjects, and seized over 20 kilograms of cocaine and approximately $15,000 in cash,” he said, also touching on the results from Operation VIPER in St. Louis, resulting in the arrest of 91 of the city’s worst offenders.
“And thanks to the men and women of St. Louis Division, their community is now safer,” he added, offering a few other notable wins for the federal agency:
After an investigation by FBI New Orleans, this week a grand jury indicted a subject in the Turtle Island Liberation Front’s plot to carry out bombings in California on New Year’s Eve. This FBI won’t rest until terrorists who threaten the safety and security of Americans face justice.
Thanks to FBI Baltimore, we charged multiple conspirators for defrauding the American public of more than $9 million dollars in disaster-relief loans for dozens of U.S. businesses. This FBI will hold accountable ANYONE who defrauds our government and abuses the public’s trust.
Patel added, “As always, keep getting after it.”
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