9 counties involved in sting operation of child sex crimes

Earlier this month, the Kentucky attorney general announced that 10 people were arrested on charges of over 400 felony counts of soliciting minors or possessing child pornography.

The arrests were part of a roundup of alleged child predators by the AG’s office in Operation Shielded Child. Nine counties were involved:

— Franklin

— Kenton

— Allen

— Shelby

— Boone

— Jessamine

— Garrard

— Scott

— Hardin

The arrests were a result of a 10-day operation involving investigators in cyber-crimes from the AG’s office and focused on those possessing and distributing child porn, as well as those soliciting minors online for sex.

Assisting the AG’s team were Homeland Security Investigations, Kentucky State Police and local police departments in Nicholasville, Frankfort, Georgetown, Shelbyville and Lancaster. The investigators also used technical resources provided by the Child Rescue Coalition. County prosecutors will handle these cases.

The Cyber Crimes Unit is part of the AG’s Department of Criminal Investigations. Their mission is to prevent sexual predators from gaining access to the children of Kentucky.

This has been a major focus of the current attorney general, as since he took office, the Cyber Crimes Unit arrested or convicted 42 alleged predators.

High profile arrests that are part of targeted operations generate much public interest, which may make obtaining a fair trial much more difficult. Defense attorneys can sometimes successfully petition the courts for changes of venue in order to provide their clients with an opportunity of empaneling fair and impartial juries.

Simply being arrested for sex crimes involving children is often enough to permanently damage a defendant’s reputation. Retaining an attorney who is adept at defending these type of allegations is vital to the case.

Source: Northern Kentucky Tribune, “Northern Kentuckians among 10 arrested for child porn, solicitation in Operation Shielded Child probe,” Oct. 04, 2016