Sheriff’s Office aids in online effort

VW independent staff

The Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office and 14 other law enforcement agencies participated in last week’s Ohio ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) Task Force “Operation Perp Rally.” While no arrests were made locally, the effort did result in 17 arrests, mainly in northeast Ohio.

During the four-day operation, law enforcement officers posed as minor children on various social media platforms in an effort to identify and arrest child explotation predators interested in engaging in sexual activity with whom they believed to be minor children. Those arrested, ages 24-60, initiated contact and expressed their intentions, then traveled to a pre-arranged location in Cuyahoga County believing they were meeting a minor.

Charges against those individuals range from third to fifth degree felonies and include compelling prostitution, attempted unlawful sexual contact with a minor, disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, importuning and possessing criminal tools.

ICAC is run under the direction of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and is funded in part by a grant from the Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.