CLEVELAND — Authorities announced details Wednesday of "Operation Deja Vu," which resulted in 31 arrests from May 19-22 with suspects ranging in age from 20 to 80.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O'Malley says the suspects came from five different counties "in an attempt to engage in sexual activities with minors."
David Frattare, Ohio ICAC Task Force Commander, says the suspects were involved in sexually explicit online conversations with people they believed were under the age of 16.
"These individuals initiated these conversations through a number of popular social media applications that children are known to use," Frattare said during a press conference Wednesday. "They then expressed an interest in engaging in sexually explicit activity with these children, a number of whom then sent or disseminated images of their genitals to what they believed were these minor children.”
Authorities also shared multiple videos from the operation in which suspects were arrested, which you can watch in the video at the bottom of this story.
The charges from "Operation Deja Vu" were listed as follows:
- 31 suspects charged with attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, importuning and possessing criminal tools.
- 4 suspects charged with compelling prostitution.
- 2 suspects charged with disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
- 1 suspect charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
- 1 suspect charged with failure to comply.
These charges will be presented to a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury.
You can watch the full "Operation Deja Vu" press conference in the player below:
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