FBI arrests, charges 24 in child exploitation operation
The Federal Bureau of Investigations revealed on Friday that 15 people from the Kansas City area were arrested on child-exploitation charges over the summer as part of a three-month-long operation.
Nine others, not from the Kansas City metro, were also arrested as a part of the operation, coined the “Summer Heat Initiative,” according to a press release from the FBI. Although not from the metro area, these other nine individuals were charged for alleged crimes in either Kansas or Missouri.
Twenty-four people were arrested in total.
Charges vary, but include: “electronic solicitation, attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct, sexual exploitation of a minor, and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) offenses, such as possession, distribution and production of CSAM,” according to the press release.
Agencies involved in the operation hail from Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Texas and Tennessee, according to the press release.
