The Marion County Sheriff’s Office recently concluded Operation Summertime Blues, which led to the arrest of 33 men after the office said they were seeking sex with children online.
The operation had deputies pose as 13- to 15-year-olds, after which they said various men contacted them within minutes and had sexually explicit conversations. Deputies — still posing as minors — then scheduled a time to meet.
At the meeting sites, the 33 arrests took place over a period of six days.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Sheriff Billy Woods specifically highlighted those suspects who worked with children or were not United States citizens.
He called on parents to be aware of who their children are talking to online in order to help alleviate the problem.