238 Arrested in “operation Heartbreak” Sting on Child Predators in California, 1,400 Accused Perverts Busted Nationwide

New York Daily News
June 22, 2016

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/238-arrested-california-sting-child-predators-article-1.2682918

Hundreds of suspected child predators were busted in a two-month sting across Southern California, police announced Monday.

Among the 238 people arrested in the “Operation Broken Heart III” sweep by the Los Angeles Regional Internet Crimes against Children task force were clergy members, community leaders, entertainers and white-collar professionals, John Reynolds, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations special agent said at a press conference.

There had been nearly 900 investigations with 250 search warrants out for possible predators during the sweep in April and May.

“The incidents of child sexual exploitation has reached staggering proportions,” Reynolds told reporters.

Los Angeles police arrested 238 alleged perverts in April and May during its "Operation Heart Break III" sweep. (FOX 11)

Officials stressed how important it was for parents to talk to their children about internet safety, especially on social media, where the majority of child predators lurk for victims.

LAPD’s Internet Crimes Against Child unit serves about 300 warrants a year for child pornography suspects, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In May, undercover agents arrested Michael Quinn, a 33-year-old Australian man who flew to California to buy a 6-year-old boy for sex, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

There were about 900 open investigations in the two months during the bust. (FOX 11)

He had traveled across continents to meet with “a dad who shared his young ones,” hoping to party with “other pervs” and paid $250 to have sex with a young boy, according to the affidavit.

“As this case shows, children everywhere are vulnerable to such predators, including children right here in Los Angeles,” U.S. attorney Eileen M. Decker said in a statement. “The Internet has helped to enable the child sex tourism industry by making the world a smaller place.”

Paul Charles Wilkins, 70, who traveled from England to the Coachella Valley to have sex with a 9-year-old boy after paying an undercover agent $250 in January, was also hit with child pornography charges on June 17.

Officials warned parents to teach their children how to avoid predators online. (MRLONELYWALKER/GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO)

On June 1, Kounzong Saebphang, a Buddhist monk from Laos, was arrested at his monastery in Riverside after investigators received a tip he was sharing child pornography.

Police found child porn on the monk’s computer, and believe he also shared it through social media, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said.

Saebphang had been staying in California on a religious worker visa.

Former "Glee" star Mark Salling was charged with child pornography charges in Los Angeles on May 27. (FREDERICK M. BROWN/GETTY IMAGES)

The region’s most high-profile arrest was Mark Salling, the former “Glee” star who was charged with receiving and possessing child pornography on May 27.

Officers seized his laptop and said it contained several images and videos of child pornography.

Nationwide, Operation Broken Heart III has busted up to 1,400 perverts.