Operation Spring Cleaning NR25108ne

May 19, 2025

Operation Spring Cleaning

The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program was developed by the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The mission of the ICAC Task Force Program is to assist local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies with investigating Internet related crimes against our youth. Currently the ICAC Task Force Program consists of 61 coordinated task forces and over 5,400 federal, state, and local law enforcement members across the nation.

The Los Angeles Regional ICAC Task Force (LA ICAC), led by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD ICAC), is comprised of five southern California counties (Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Ventura). The LA ICAC Task Force is currently made up of 108 law enforcement partners. Making the LA ICAC Task Force one of the largest ICAC Task Force nationally.

Between April 6 and April 19, 2025, the LA ICAC Task Force led a multi-agency effort known as Operation Spring Cleaning.

Operation Spring Cleaning Results in 265 Arrests and the Identification and Rescue of 27 Children across Southern California.

Operation Spring Cleaning was a multi-agency initiative aimed at identifying and arresting child predators who use the internet to exploit children, and rescuing the young victims targeted by these offenders.

The operation was carried out in two phases. The first phase focused on proactive undercover investigations across various social media platforms. The second phase involved serving numerous residential and arrest warrants across five counties, targeting individuals engaged in the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), online exploitation, and other crimes against children.

Twenty-seven vulnerable children were rescued from further harm. In total, 265 suspects, many of whom held positions of trust within their communities, were arrested and held accountable for their crimes. Several of those taken into custody held roles that placed them in direct contact with children or carried significant community trust. These arrests underscore the importance of vigilance and cross-agency collaboration in safeguarding children from individuals who use their trusted positions to exploit and harm the most vulnerable.

In addition to enforcement efforts, approximately 1,000 parents and children received internet safety training, empowering families with tools and knowledge to stay safe online.

The following is a sample of the child exploitation-related crimes for which the 265 suspects were arrested during Operation Spring Cleaning:

– Possession of child sexual abuse material
– Distribution of child sexual abuse material
– Production of child sexual abuse material
– Sending obscene matter to a child for sexual gratification
– Lewd acts with a child, meeting a minor for lewd purposes
– Contact or attempt to contact a minor for sex
– Lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under 14 years of age
– Human Trafficking
– Oral copulation with a minor
– Indecent exposure
– Child annoying,
– Failure to register as a convicted sex offender
– And various violations of parole/probation conditions by convicted sex offenders.

Although Operation Spring Cleaning has concluded, the LA ICAC Task Force will remain vigilant and continue their mission to protect our children. Despite the numerous resources that assist the LA ICAC Task Force in the battle against the sexual exploitation of children, there are victims who are unnoticed. Therefore, we are asking the community for their help in this fight.

The internet is an integral part of daily life, but it also presents potential dangers, especially for children. Parents and caregivers play a vital role in protecting young people by staying informed about online risks, actively monitoring their children’s internet use, and maintaining open, ongoing conversations about online safety. Through awareness, guidance, and communication, families can better navigate and guard against the threat of online predators.

The community is encouraged to visit: www.Missingkids.org/NetSmartz for educational internet safety tips and activities. The community may also report potential child sexual abuse activity and have the harmful matter removed via the service “Take it Down” hosted on the website www.takeitdown.ncmec.org. By reporting the potential child sexual abuse activity, you are giving a potential victim a voice when they are often silenced due to circumstance. “If you See Something, Say Something”

The united efforts of the LA ICAC Task force and the community, in the fight against the online sexual exploitation of children, will surely assist in keeping the child predators at bay and allow our children to explore the internet without fear.