25 Charged In Multi-Agency Crackdown On Child Predators In Northern Oklahoma

Twenty-five people are facing charges after Operation Clean Sweep II, a multi-agency crackdown on child predators in the Northern District of Oklahoma by the Department of Justice.

"I'm a father, I live in this community. I want to make sure that all our kids are safe," said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

Child predators online and in communities have reached an all-time high since the pandemic in 2020. "We've seen a 300% increase since 2021," Johnson said. Predators are using social media and online platforms to entice children into sending them photos and meeting up.

Since 2020, online games and social media use have increased, providing more opportunities for predators targeting children. "Part of that is COVID, and everybody was shut down inside their homes. We saw a huge spike in child predators," Johnson said.

Operation Clean Sweep II continues an effort that began in 2021. Law enforcement from local, federal, and tribal agencies spent months knocking on doors and tracking online movements of registered sex offenders in 11 counties. During the operation, agents checked in on 525 known sex offenders, and 50 were found to be non-compliant with the registry. Twenty-five individuals are now facing charges for coercion and enticement.

"Yes, it's a scary number. And it's a scary number because we're dealing with children or some of the most reprehensible behavior out there, which is exploiting children for sexual purposes," Johnson said.

Parents can significantly impact whether or not child predators are successful. "You need to be talking to your kids, talking about what they're doing, where they're doing it, and who they're doing it with online, whether it's gaming, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, all the social media platforms that have become part of our daily lives," Johnson advised.

The prosecution of the defendants arrested during Operation Clean Sweep II is led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Nassar and Ashley Robert. Law enforcement personnel participating in the operation include the HSI Tulsa office, the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, the Tulsa Police Department, Rogers County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, Broken Arrow Police Department, Owasso Police Department, Sapulpa Police Department, Bristow Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.