BATON ROUGE, LA – Today, Attorney General Jeff Landry’s Office announced the Louisiana success of this year’s “Operation Broken Heart” initiative – a two-month long national investigative and prevention effort by over 4500 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
Joined by members of the Louisiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, Chief Deputy Attorney General Bill Stiles announced the Louisiana Department of Justice (LADOJ) made 32 arrests between the months of April and May on a range of crimes associated with production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse images and videos. As a whole, the ICAC Team made 62 arrests throughout Louisiana during the 2018 Operation Broken Heart.
“The LADOJ is committed to finding and arresting child predators throughout our State; and I am grateful to our agents, examiners, and investigators who work tirelessly to keep Louisiana’s children safe,” said General Landry. “Operation Broken Heart is a reminder of how dangerous the Internet can be and how important it is for parents and guardians to be aware of what your children are doing and with whom they are communicating.”
“The sexual abuse and exploitation of children is one of the most vile and disgusting acts of human behavior in any society,” said United States Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana Brandon Fremin. “I am extremely proud of the work of our partners here in the Middle District of Louisiana and across the nation in these efforts. This is just another example of the profound impact law enforcement and prosecutors can have when we focus the resources provided by local, state and federal law enforcement.”
“The FBI New Orleans Field Office, in coordination with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners will continue to identify, locate, and apprehend child predators and child pornographers,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric Rommal of the New Orleans Field Office. “Our office maintains a strong posture when it comes to pursuing child predators and we have made it clear that this behavior will not be tolerated. The safety and security of our children is paramount and through our dedicated resources, we must do whatever it takes to keep them from harm’s way and defend those who cannot defend themselves.”
“Child sexual abuse inflicts life-long mental and physical scars on its victims and stopping those who do harm to innocent children is one of this agency’s top priorities,” said Special Agent in Charge Jere T. Miles of Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans. “HSI is appreciative of its longstanding partnership with the Louisiana Attorney General’s office in this ongoing fight, and we are committed to continuing this important work with our federal, state and local partners to find and prosecute child sex offenders while rescuing the victims of these terrible crimes.”
Last month, General Landry released the “Be Smart With Your Smart Phone” booklet, which highlights some of the public safety issues related to smart phones – including talking to child predators. To download a copy or get other cyber safety tips, go to www.AGJeffLandry.com/CyberSafety.
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Operation Broken Heart aims to (1) arrest as many offenders as possible who: (a) possess, manufacture, and distribute child pornography; (b) engage in online enticement of children for sexual purposes; (c) engage in the commercial sexual exploitation of children (commonly referred to as child prostitution), (d) engage in child sex tourism (traveling abroad for the purpose of sexually abusing foreign children) and (2) provide community education to prevent technology related child exploitation and abuse.
Joined by members of the Louisiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, Chief Deputy Attorney General Bill Stiles announced the Louisiana Department of Justice (LADOJ) made 32 arrests between the months of April and May on a range of crimes associated with production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse images and videos. As a whole, the ICAC Team made 62 arrests throughout Louisiana during the 2018 Operation Broken Heart.
“The LADOJ is committed to finding and arresting child predators throughout our State; and I am grateful to our agents, examiners, and investigators who work tirelessly to keep Louisiana’s children safe,” said General Landry. “Operation Broken Heart is a reminder of how dangerous the Internet can be and how important it is for parents and guardians to be aware of what your children are doing and with whom they are communicating.”
“The sexual abuse and exploitation of children is one of the most vile and disgusting acts of human behavior in any society,” said United States Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana Brandon Fremin. “I am extremely proud of the work of our partners here in the Middle District of Louisiana and across the nation in these efforts. This is just another example of the profound impact law enforcement and prosecutors can have when we focus the resources provided by local, state and federal law enforcement.”
“The FBI New Orleans Field Office, in coordination with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners will continue to identify, locate, and apprehend child predators and child pornographers,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric Rommal of the New Orleans Field Office. “Our office maintains a strong posture when it comes to pursuing child predators and we have made it clear that this behavior will not be tolerated. The safety and security of our children is paramount and through our dedicated resources, we must do whatever it takes to keep them from harm’s way and defend those who cannot defend themselves.”
“Child sexual abuse inflicts life-long mental and physical scars on its victims and stopping those who do harm to innocent children is one of this agency’s top priorities,” said Special Agent in Charge Jere T. Miles of Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans. “HSI is appreciative of its longstanding partnership with the Louisiana Attorney General’s office in this ongoing fight, and we are committed to continuing this important work with our federal, state and local partners to find and prosecute child sex offenders while rescuing the victims of these terrible crimes.”
Last month, General Landry released the “Be Smart With Your Smart Phone” booklet, which highlights some of the public safety issues related to smart phones – including talking to child predators. To download a copy or get other cyber safety tips, go to www.AGJeffLandry.com/CyberSafety.
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Operation Broken Heart aims to (1) arrest as many offenders as possible who: (a) possess, manufacture, and distribute child pornography; (b) engage in online enticement of children for sexual purposes; (c) engage in the commercial sexual exploitation of children (commonly referred to as child prostitution), (d) engage in child sex tourism (traveling abroad for the purpose of sexually abusing foreign children) and (2) provide community education to prevent technology related child exploitation and abuse.