A 23-year-old Reston resident was among those arrested in a recent sting operation conducted by the Fairfax County Police Department’s Child Exploitation Unit.
The operation involved detectives posing as juveniles online. The police department says the juveniles quickly received sexual solicitations, warning parents that “this type of crime is prevalent within our community.”
In all, eight men are facing various charges, including computer solicitation of a minor. Among them is Joshua Veary of Reston, who is facing three counts of computer solicitation.
More from an FCPD press release:
Major Crimes Division detectives from the Child Exploitation Unit recently conducted a three-day operation targeting online sexual predators.
Detectives, posing as juveniles, went online and within a very short period of time, received solicitations and sexually explicit images from men wanting to meet the “child” for the purpose of engaging in inappropriate sexual activity. The suspect and “child” would arrange a time and place to meet and when the suspect arrived, he was taken into custody.
The hard work of our detectives, along with those from the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and Special Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation , resulted in the arrest of eight offenders. Approximately 25 local and federal criminal charges were placed, including, solicitation of a minor, solicitation of a minor for prostitution, attempted indecent liberties with a minor (including a registered sex offender), and drug possession charges.
Detectives want to emphasize, especially to parents, this type of crime is prevalent within our community. They encourage you to closely monitor your child’s online activity; not only for predators who want to engage in physical contact, but also for those who wish to send or receive pornographic images from children.
Anyone with information about crimes involving suspected child sexual exploitation is asked to contact the Major Crimes Division at 703-246-7800, or Crime Solvers electronically by visiting www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or text-a-tip by texting “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES(274637)** or by calling 1-866-411-TIPS(8477), or call Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131.
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