In a concerted effort to shield minors from online predators, the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department's Special Victims Unit (SVU) orchestrated a sting operation — Operation "Safe House" — that resulted in the arrest of 14 adult males for alleged child sex crimes. According to the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office Facebook post, this undercover initiative spanned from August 2 to August 3 and involved detectives posing as 13 to 15-year-old minors on various social media and dating platforms.

Once contact with the detectives was established, individuals were alleged to have solicited illicit acts. The suspects, believing they were conversing with minors, were taken into custody after arriving at a predetermined location in Stanislaus County. Each individual was booked into the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Public Safety Center on varying charges ranging from contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sex act to attempted production of child pornography.

The operation shines a spotlight on the persistent and disturbing issue of online sexual exploitation of children. Perpetrators, who hailed from cities including Modesto, Ceres, Salida, and as far as Sacramento and Chowchilla, are reminders that the threat to vulnerable youths spans a wide geographic area.