Photo credit: Alexander Nguyen
Authorities arrested more than two dozen people, many of them convicted sex offenders, during a monthlong sweep carried out by members of a special Riverside County unit.
One arrest stemmed from a sting operation involving a San Diego County man who traveled to Riverside, allegedly for the purpose of having sex with a minor. But the youth was really an undercover law enforcement officer.
Prosecutors said they confirmed the suspect to be a registered sex offender and took him into custody.
The county’s Child Exploitation Team, composed of sheriff’s deputies and officers from various municipal police agencies, targeted various locations during the month of April, netting 26 arrests, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
Officials said that in Hemet, the team 52 sex offender compliance checks, resulting in 13 people being booked for alleged failure to register with local law enforcement as convicted sex offenders under Penal Code section 290. Authorities booked five others for alleged parole violations.
Team members also served search warrants in Beaumont, Corona, Indio, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley and Murrieta, culminating in six arrests. The charges include alleged possession of child pornography, according to the DA’s Office.
Federal investigators also referred a case to the team related to possession of child porn, leading to the arrest of a man, officials said.
Additional operations are planned in the future.
– City News Service