ICE, international partners arrest 113 child predators

WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – in collaboration with the Brazil Ministry of Justice and the Public Security (MJSP) Secretariat for Integrated Operation (SEOPI) Cyber Laboratory – arrested 113 alleged child predators across the U.S. and in South America, Nov. 2 to 6, during phase seven of Operation Protected Childhood (OPC VII).

OPC VII simultaneously targeted the distributors and producers of child sexual abuse material throughout the Americas. The operation was conducted across multiple ICE HSI domestic field offices and executed in coordination with the agency's Cyber Crimes Center (C3) and with law enforcement counterparts in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Panama.

"This collaborative effort by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations and its foreign law enforcement partners has put dangerous criminals behind bars and, most importantly, has led to the rescue of innocent children," said ICE Attaché for Brazil and Bolivia, Robert Fuentes Jr. "Thank you to our Brazilian partners for their unwavering efforts over the last five years to combat child exploitation through Operation Protected Childhood. And to our partners who have most recently joined our operation, we look forward to the continued fight and relentless effort to put a stop to this horrific crime."