Most of the suspects were arrested on suspicion of possessing child sexual abuse material, authorities said.
Authorities arrested 141 people across Southern California — most of them on suspicion of possessing child sexual abuse material — as part of a weeklong operation targeting online abuse, officials said Wednesday.
LAPD Capt. Jeff Bratcher said many predators take advantage of the anonymity of the internet to target victims — for example, by infiltrating online gaming sites where they might try to convince a child to send images of themselves in exchange for virtual credits that can be used to make in-game purchases. The rise of esports and social media platforms in recent years has caused a surge in abuse reports, he said.
“It’s not the same stranger in a van that your mom and dad and my mom and dad warned us about; it’s a whole different type of threat,” he said. “And they never really know who they’re talking to.” Investigators pursued new leads while also targeting people who had previously been arrested, Bratcher said.Law enforcement has been overwhelmed by a massive surge in tips about online child sexual abuse and exploitation tied coronavirus at-home learning.
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