RICHMOND—The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced last week it had concluded a national surge of resources to arrest alleged child sexual abuse offenders and combat child exploitation. In a coordinated effort from April 28 to May 1, all 55 FBI field offices participated in Operation Restore Justice, during which 205 people were arrested and 115 children were rescued nationwide.
The Richmond Field Office arrested three subjects from across Virginia as part of this operation.
Christopher Johnson of Salem was arrested on May 2 for transportation of material involving the sexual exploitation of minors.
The two other subjects, Allan Martin of Henrico, and Saoeun Hing of Richmond, were arrested for possession and receipt of child sexual abuse material.
“Child exploitation cases are among our top priorities, as they involve our most vulnerable victims,” said FBI Richmond Special Agent in Charge Stanley M. Meador. “The FBI Richmond team, through our Child Exploitation Task Forces, works around the clock to track down these subjects and hold them accountable for their heinous actions.”
FBI Richmond worked jointly with Virginia State Police, Henrico County Division of Police, Chesterfield County Police Department, and the United States Attorney’s Offices from the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia on Operation Restore Justice, which coincided with Child Abuse Prevention month. Throughout the entire month of April, the FBI arrested more than 190 subjects on charges related to crimes against children. With nearly 400 arrests in one month, these actions are the direct result of the FBI’s continued efforts to track down and stop sexual predators before they can harm more victims, the bureau said.
The FBI identifies individuals involved in child sexual exploitation and the production of child sexual abuse material through our far-reaching, nationwide network of personnel and law enforcement partners. The FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children (VCAC) program provides a rapid, proactive, and comprehensive approach to counter all threats of abuse against children. This capacity leverages partnerships within the FBI’s 89 Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Forces (CEHTTFs) across the country. The FBI leads a Violent Crimes Against Children International Task Force, which includes nearly 100 International Task Force Officers from over 60 countries to expand our ability to address the threat worldwide.
The FBI partners with the nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which receives and shares tips about possible child sexual exploitation received through its 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST and on missingkids.org. In further collaboration with NCMEC, the FBI created the Endangered Child Alert Program (ECAP) to identify individuals involved in the sexual abuse of children and the production of child sexual abuse material. To date, ECAP has identified 36 individuals.
