Arkansas – The Arkansas State Police recently ramped up the efforts to identify and stop sexual predators during a special Internet Crimes Against Children Division operation called operation Cyber Highway Safety Check.
From March 10 through the end of May, the ASP made 42 arrests related to Children Sexual Abuse Material and failure to comply with registration requirements. Nine of these arrests were made for hands on arrests. The police rescued five children from ongoing sexual abuse and identified 22 more children as new victims.
On a recent press release, they reported 178 search warrants were executed, 1,600 homes with registered sexual offenders were visited, 160 investigations were initiated, and 63 cases submitted for prosecution to state and federal courts. Among these, 45 of the cases have been accepted for grand jury indictments. Two of these cases involved child sex trafficking, arrests were made, and have ongoing investigations across multiple states.
Operation Cyber Highway Safety Check included local, county, and state affiliates, as well as federal law enforcement partners. As part of their ongoing efforts, the ASP will be distributing informative posters to all schools with students 12 years of age and higher in the upcoming school year. These posters will be used to raise awareness and provide tips and instructions on how to keep children safe from sexual predators. These posters will also feature a QR code for students and their parents to to access information.
For tools to help parents protect their children against technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and internet crimes, visit https://www.aricac.org.
