Child sex predator arrests rise by 18% to 3,771 in fiscal 2019

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Washington Examiner

Federal officials arrested 3,771 sexual predators they say targeted more than 1,066 children across the country during the past fiscal year, according to data released late Thursday.

 

The Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, section of Immigration and Customs Enforcement opened 4,224 cases into child exploitation concerns in the United States and overseas from Oct. 1, 2018, through Sept. 30.

“HSI is committed to eradicating individuals from our communities who seek to prey on children,” Eben Roberts, acting special agent in charge of the HSI Seattle field office, said in a statement. “HSI’s agents, in cooperation with our law enforcement partners, work tirelessly to find and bring to justice individuals who commit these heinous crimes. Moreover, we are dedicated to rescuing from harm’s way our most precious population – our children – and those who seek to harm them should consider this a warning.”

ICE is comprised of two entities: HSI and Enforcement and Removal Operations, or ERO. While ERO targets immigration-related violations, HSI is a general investigatory agency not limited to immigrants.