The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office says 38 people were arrested across two separate operations this fall, one an undercover sting aimed at adults trying to exploit children online, the other a sweep of compliance checks on registered sex offenders and predators already living in the community.
According to News4JAX, the first effort, Operation Prey No More, ran September 3 through 6 and led to 15 arrests of adults accused of using the internet to sexually exploit and prey on children. Detectives posing as children online said some suspects allegedly sent explicit material, requested images or videos, or offered to pay for sex, the station reported.
A Second Sweep Checks on Offenders Already in the System
The second operation, called Final Match, ran October 13 through 15 and resulted in 23 additional arrests — 20 registered sex offenders and three registered sexual predators, per the same News4JAX account. That effort included 55 compliance checks on people already required to register with the state, and investigators seized four cellphones for further investigation.
Jacksonville Today's writeup of the announcement described the combined total as “nearly 40” arrests, though the more specific figure released by the sheriff's office was 38. The two operations took fundamentally different approaches: one drew suspects in online before any contact with a real child could occur, while the other checked that offenders already on the registry were following the law, the station's report notes.
State Attorney Points to Intervention Before Harm Occurs
State Attorney R.J. Larizza attended Thursday's news conference alongside Sheriff Robert Hardwick, Sgt. Justin Ackerman, and representatives of partner agencies, according to the St. Johns Citizen. Larizza said the undercover work allows investigators to intervene before children are physically harmed, the outlet reported.
Name of the Child-Exploitation Operation
The undercover child-exploitation operation was called Operation Prey No More.
Operation Prey No More involved the State Attorney's Office, the FBI, the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and other law enforcement partners, the same News4JAX report said.
A Related Case From the Same County
Jacksonville Today reported on a separate case involving 30-year-old Carlos Varela Hernandez, and mentioned an immigration violation.
The conduct described by investigators remains, at this stage, a set of allegations.
