Overview
- Law enforcement announced Monday that a nine-day operation in Arlington, Fort Worth and elsewhere in Tarrant County resulted in 56 arrests targeting sex buyers and traffickers.
- Ten of those arrested are accused of trying to meet minors for sex after communicating online with what they believed were children, and two defendants have been federally charged with attempted enticement of a minor.
- Investigators used undercover officers posing as sex workers and as minors and responded to online ads to arrange face-to-face stings that led to multiple solicitation arrests.
- Task force partners including the U.S. Secret Service provided online communication and technical analysis that aided arrests while local nonprofits Unbound Now and Rescue Hill began immediate and longer-term services for survivors.
- The operation remains active with 14 investigations open, arrest warrants pending, and federal prosecutors reviewing additional cases that could lead to more charges or prosecutions.