Fresno County Sheriff's Office COVID CHAT DOWN
(Photo : Fresno County Sheriff's Office) COVID Chat Down Suspects

A total of 34 men who are allegedly child sexual abusers were arrested in an undercover operation in Fresno County.

The faces of the alleged child sexual abusers were shown during a Friday news conference by Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims, who announced the arrests made during the July 20 operation.

These latest arrests are now part of about 90 other child sexual abuses cases in Fresno County, reported the Fresno Bee. So far, the number of arrests for this year is already double than those recorded arrests for similar acts in the same time last year.

A KTLA report said the men range from ages 19 to 63. According to Mims, the most notable arrest was that of 55-year-old Thomas Binford of Clovis.

Binford is a registered sex offenser who had been arrested before for abusing a child. Along with that, he was also found in possession of some malicious materials featuring children.

Mims believed that the possible reason children are being common victims of the online exploitation is because they are at home most of the time during the pandemic. Abusers are taking advantage of this alone time that children have online.

"These people are out there these people exist and they're looking for your children and your grandchildren to exploit," Mims said in an ABC30 report.

Operation COVID Chat Down

The undercover sting done by the sheriff's office was called "Operation COVID Chat Down."

The FOX26 News said it is a multi-agency effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The operation was conducted between July 20 and August 2. Several police agencies in Fresno County took part in the sting, as well as Homeland Security Investigations (HIS).

Mims said the detectives went undercover online as children aged 12 and 13 years old. They lured the suspected child sexual abusers to a meeting place to be arrested.

With that, Mims encouraged parents to talk to their children and monitor the suspicious people they may be talking online. She is greatly disturbed that there are young children out there who are falling victims to the abusers.

Tatum King, a special agent with HSI, also said parents have to be made aware about the problem with online child abuse.

"This is not just a problem here in Fresno and the Central Valley. It's an international scourge," he said.

Only 9 Remain in Jail

The sheriff's office also posted the photos of all arrested men through their Facebook page. When a follower asked them how many of the men were cited out, they replied: "None. These are not citable offenses. Some posted bond and bailed out though."

According to the Chief Deputy District Attorney Midori Howo, 22 of the men bonded out and three are on pre-trial release.

Mims did not say which apps were used to catch the suspects. But she did say that 190 men continued to talk to the detectives posing as children even though they said they were 12 or 13 years old.

Howo said most of the men, who weren't arrested, asked for a photo when they were told they were talking to a pre-teen.

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