GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – Officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida, announced the results of Operation Restore Justice, a coordinated enforcement effort to identify, track, and arrest child sex predators, Wednesday afternoon.
Leaders said the operation resulted in the rescue of 115 children and the arrests of 205 child sexual abuse offenders in the nationwide crackdown.
The coordinated effort was executed over five days by all 55 FBI field offices, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section in the Department’s Criminal Division, and United States Attorney’s Offices around the country.
“The Department of Justice will never stop fighting to protect victims — especially child victims — and we will not rest until we hunt down, arrest, and prosecute every child predator who preys on the most vulnerable among us,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “I am grateful to the FBI and their state and local partners for their incredible work in Operation Restore Justice and have directed my prosecutors not to negotiate.”
“Every child deserves to grow up free from fear and exploitation,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. “Operation Restore Justice proves that no predator is out of reach and no child will be forgotten. By leveraging the strength of all our field offices and our federal, state, and local partners, we’re sending a clear message: there is no place to hide for those who prey on children. The FBI is relentless in our pursuit of those who exploit the most vulnerable among us.”
In Florida’s middle district, five individuals were arrested and charged with federal offenses, including production, attempted production, receipt, and distribution of child sexual abuse material, enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, and attempted transmission of harmful material to a minor, including in Jacksonville, Ocala, Orlando, and Tampa.
“Children are among our society’s most vulnerable populations and must be protected at all costs,” U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe said. “We will leave no stone unturned in finding and prosecuting those who prey upon their innocence and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Authorities arrested Jordan Dave Persad, 22, of Phoenix, in Ocala on April 30 on an indictment charging him with possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and possession of contraband (a cell phone) by a federal prisoner.
If convicted, Persad would face a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for the offense and one year of incarceration for the contraband offense.
Officials said court documents said that while Persad was an inmate at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Sumter County, he possessed a contraband cellphone and material that contained an image of CSAM.
In Jacksonville, authorities arrested Brittany Karen Firth, 41, of St. Augustine, on a criminal complaint charging her with production, attempted production, distribution, and receipt of CSAM on April 30.
If convicted, Firth faces a minimum sentence of 15 years, up to 70 years, in federal prison.
According to the complaint, detectives with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office (SJCSO) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit received information from a social media and gaming platform company that CSAM had been uploaded by a user later identified as Firth.
A search warrant revealed that from May through September 2024, Firth engaged in approximately 5,000 online text messages with another platform user (Person 1) who was identified by law enforcement in Utah as a registered sex offender who had previously been convicted of a child sex offense.
The investigation revealed that Person 1 had access to two children and during his online conversations with Firth, Person 1 exchanged sexually explicit messages regarding, among other things, Person 1′s desires and efforts to engage in sexual conduct with these children. Person 1 streamed live video of his sexualized interactions with the children to Facebook. On several occasions, Firth screen-recorded live-streaming video of Person 1 as he sexually abused one of the children.
Officials clarified that an indictment or complaint is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This effort follows the Department’s observance of National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. While the Department, including the FBI, investigates and prosecutes these crimes every day, April serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of preventing these crimes, seeking justice for victims, and raising awareness through community education.
Leaders with the Justice Department said they are committed to combating child sexual exploitation.
These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.
Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
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