“We appreciate the efforts by California DOJ special agents and their law enforcement partners to protect our children by guarding against online predators.”

– CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

MADERA COUNTY– On January 27, 2025, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, together with the Madera County Sheriff’s Office and California Highway Patrol, announced the results of operation “To Catch a Predator” which targeted sexual predators who use the internet to seek out potential underage victims. Over the course of the three-day operation, five suspects were arrested and charged with contacting and meeting with minors for sexual purposes. The California Department of Justice’s Fresno Human Trafficking Sexual Predator Apprehension (HT-SPAT), the Madera County Sheriff’s Office, and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) joined forces in a three-day multi-jurisdictional operation, which was completed on January 18, 2025.

“The exploitation of children will not be tolerated in California,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “The National Center of Missing and Exploited Children and the FBI estimate there are 500,000 online predators active each day. One child exploited is one too many. I would like to thank the efforts of our partners who helped conduct this operation. When we work together, we get results.” 

“We are grateful for our ongoing partnership with the CA DOJ Human Trafficking Team in Fresno and CA Highway Patrol, and our shared commitment to protecting one of our most vulnerable populations, said Madera County Sheriff Tyson Pogue. “May this operation and subsequent arrests be a reminder to all that we will not tolerate predators in Madera County.”

“The safety and well-being of our children is our top priority,” said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee. “This operation demonstrates our unwavering commitment to protecting California’s most vulnerable residents and holding those who prey on them accountable. We will continue to work tirelessly with our partners to ensure that no child is ever subjected to such harm.”

Agents and officers identified subjects looking to exploit minors for the purpose of committing sexual acts.  During the operation, undercover agents and detectives posed as minors on various social media platforms and websites commonly used by child sex predators. After being identified, the suspects were located and arrested. All suspects were booked into the Madera County Jail and were charged with Penal Code Section 288.3 – contacting a minor for sexual purposes and Penal Code Section 288.4 – meeting with a minor for sexual purposes. The Madera County District Attorney’s Office will be prosecuting the cases.