SHALIMAR, Fla. — The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrests of 10 men who reportedly solicited undercover agents posing as minors ranging in age from 11-14 years.
Charges range from traveling to meet a minor for sex to use of a computer to solicit a minor for sex, and more, according to the OCSO.
The men reportedly came from throughout Northwest Florida.
“We cannot let down our guard at any time. I want parents to realize these type predators have a large presence online and will sometimes spend months “grooming” juveniles in an effort to seduce them into either sending sexually explicit images or meeting them for sexual activity,” said Sheriff Eric Aden.
“Parents should monitor their children when they use social media platforms, to include interactions that take place on gaming systems.”
During the last two weeks, members of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit has been conducting undercover operations with the purpose of identifying and arresting online child predators.
These predators commonly seek out young children using online social media platforms with the purpose of engaging in sex acts.
A similar operation was recently conducted by the Walton County Sheriff’s Office just weeks ago.
One of the suspects, Daniel Johnson, was previously arrested in Leon County during the same kind of operation, according to the OCSO.
