Fifteen men, three of which are University of Florida students, were arrested in the span of five days during an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force operation, according to a Gainesville Police Department press release.
Siddhartha Jain, 27, a master's student majoring in information systems and operations management in the UF's College of Business, was arrested March 15 and released March 17 from the Alachua County Jail on a $75,000 dollar bond.
Hongyan Huang, 22, a master's student majoring in information systems and operations management in the College of Business, was arrested March 19 and is still being held in Alachua County Jail.
Quinton Reddick, 22, a computer science junior at UF's College of Engineering, was arrested March 17 and is still being held in Alachua County Jail.
According to UF spokesman John Hines, all three students have been trespassed from campus.
Seven nearby law enforcement agencies, including GPD and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, participated in a five-day undercover operation to combat those who sexually exploit children online.
In "Operation Resilient,” multiple people communicated online with whom they believed to be either a child or a guardian that would allow sexual contact with a child. Of that group, fifteen men actually traveled to meet the online contacts with the intent of having sexual contact, which ultimately led to their arrest.
“Fifteen men made the conscious decision to get into a vehicle and travel with the intention of having sex with a teenager,” Chief Tony Jones said in a GPD press release. “I’m proud of everyone involved in this operation as they seek to get these offenders behind bars and away from our children.”