(FOX40.COM) — Law enforcement arrested 17 men from Northern California during the multi-agency Cyber Shield Operation targeting people exploiting children through online platforms.

The Sutter County Sheriff’s Office said during a press conference Friday that the operation ran from July 22 to July 25, resulting in 12 arrests.

Following the operation, an additional five people were arrested as suspects continued to communicate online, resulting in a total of 17 arrests.

The men arrested include:

Ricardo Juarez, age 18, of Yuba City

Gary Lloyd Jr, age 41, of Sacramento

Torrance Pryor, age 39, of Rancho Cordova

Kip Ernst, age 52, of Granite Bay

Valintino Cabagua, age 65, of Sacramento

Rafael Zamudio, age 39, of Marysville

Jason Harmon, age 44, of Marysville

Thomas Saetern, age 26, of Sacramento

Christopher Shipman, age 47, of Gridley

Mario Sandoval-Cervantes, age 39, of Lodi

Philbert Maghamil, age 26, of Lincoln

Steven Koehler, age 68, of Sacramento

Juan Morales-Yepes, age 56, of Yuba City

Mauro Lopez-Santiago, age 50, of Marysville

Keith Alvis, age 40, of Turlock

Sean Margalit, age 28, of Oroville

Jacob Molsberry, age 30, of Santa Rosa

The sheriff’s office said that around 50 to 60 highly skilled and trained law enforcement personnel posed as children age 13-years-old and under while communicating with people on multiple online platforms.

During the operation, authorities were subjected to vulgar conversations and explicit photos from the suspects arrested.

Suspects were then lured to hotel rooms under the belief that they would be meeting with minors, then were arrested onsite or outside in the adjoining areas.

According to the sheriff’s office, the hotel used was aware of the operation and asked that their name not be publicized.

Some of the arrest charges include:

Making contact and communicating with a minor with the intent to commit a sexual offense, felony

Agreeing to meet with a minor for the purpose of engaging in lewd and lascivious behavior, misdemeanor

Arriving at an arranged meeting place and agreeing to meet with the minor with the intent to commit a sexual act, felony

Attempting lewd and lascivious acts with a child 14 years of age or younger, felony

Distributing harmful matter to minors, felony

All 17 cases were sent to the Sutter County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

The agencies involved include:

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

California Highway Patrol

Department of Homeland Security

Marysville Police Department

Placer County Sheriff’s Office

Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department

Sacramento Police Department

Sac-Valley Hi-Tech Task Force

Shasta County Sheriff’s Office

Sutter County District Attorney’s Office

Sutter County Probation Department

Turlock Police Department

Yolo County Sheriff’s Office

Yuba City Police Department

Yuba County Sheriff’s Department

Learn more on air at FOX40 at 5 p.m.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News.