{"id":105287,"date":"2025-12-22T20:32:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T20:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/105287\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T20:32:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T20:32:09","slug":"the-fresno-county-sheriff-coroners-office-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/105287\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fresno County Sheriff-Coroner&#8217;s Office"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A total of 21 men have been arrested and booked into the Fresno County Jail on various charges related to arranging to meet with a child for sex.<\/p>\n<p>They range in age from 21 to 66. \u00a0The arrests are a result of the undercover effort called \u201cOperation Naughty or Nice\u201d, which was a multi-agency operation conducted from December 18th \u2013 21st, 2025. \u00a0Some arrestees have since posted bond, been assigned a court date and released from custody.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Participants included members from the following 17 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>-Central California Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force\u00a0<br \/>-Fresno County Sheriff\u2019s Office<br \/>-Madera County Sheriff\u2019s Office<br \/>-Fresno Police Department<br \/>-Clovis Police Department<br \/>-Sanger Police Department<br \/>-Kerman Police Department<br \/>-Kingsburg Police Department<br \/>-Reedley Police Department<br \/>-California Highway Patrol<br \/>-California Department of Justice<br \/>-Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)<br \/>-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)\u00a0<br \/>-Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC)<br \/>-Fresno County Probation Adult Compliance Team (ACT)\u00a0<br \/>-Fresno County District Attorney\u2019s Office<br \/>-Merced County District Attorney\u2019s Office<\/p>\n<p>The basis for launching this operation is that children\u2019s use of electronic devices and social media is higher than ever. \u00a0A potential danger of being online more often is having an encounter with a sexual predator who is seeking out relationships with children.<\/p>\n<p>To combat the problem, detectives constructed an operation to identify, contact and arrest anyone who may be trying to target a child for sex. \u00a0Detectives posed as preteen and early teenage old boys and girls to use technology against these predators and safeguard children. \u00a0During the investigations, these suspects used sexually explicit language and sent graphic photos to the detective pretending to be a child. \u00a0All of the suspects were first to express their sexual desires and they initiated a time to meet with the detective posing as a child. \u00a0Once they arrived to the locations, officers arrested them. \u00a0No actual children were ever used or placed into danger during the operation.<\/p>\n<p>In 2020, a similar operation was conducted, titled \u201cCOVID Chat Down.\u201d \u00a0It lasted 14 days and resulted in 34 arrests. \u00a0In 2022, Operation H.O.O.K. resulted in 19 arrests over four days. \u00a0During Operation Boogeyman in 2023, 14 arrests were made in three days.<\/p>\n<p>Each year, the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force receives thousands of online CyberTip reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. \u00a0These tips are related to the distribution and possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). \u00a0ICAC detectives are well-aware that suspects who view CSAM can easily progress into hands on crimes against children. \u00a0The suspects contacted in \u201cOperation Boogeyman\u201d are prime examples of how sexual behavior can escalate.<\/p>\n<p>ICAC is comprised of 68 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies spread throughout nine counties in the Central Valley. \u00a0It is dedicated to protecting children online and investigating crimes committed against children, which are facilitated by the Internet and computer usage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Law enforcement would like to remind the public to be vigilant when it comes to visiting websites and social media outlets. \u00a0Parents should also monitor their children\u2019s internet usage and be aware of the software apps they are using. \u00a0Parents should keep the dialogue open with their children in order to build trust. \u00a0Online predators often pretend to be someone else in order to lure their victims in and take advantage of them. \u00a0Teach children to be wary of the person on the other end of the chat line; many times, people are not who they say they are. \u00a0Common apps used by suspects include, but are not limited to: \u00a0Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, Discord, Kik, MeetMe and Scout. \u00a0Report any suspicious behavior right away to law enforcement or file a cyber tip through the National Center for Missing &amp; Exploited Children. \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/report.cybertip.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/report.cybertip.org\/\\<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Operation Naughty or Nice remains an ongoing investigation and more arrests could be made. \u00a0There is a possibility that the suspects in this case victimized other people who have never reported it. \u00a0If you have any additional information about the suspects contacted during this operation, please report it to the Sheriff\u2019s Office at (559) 600-3111, Valley Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-7867, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.valleycrimestoppers.org\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">www.valleycrimestoppers.org<\/a>\u00a0 You will remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/251222_suspect arrests.png\" width=\"780\" height=\"572\" loading=\"lazy\" data-path=\"local-images:\/2025\/12\/251222_suspect arrests.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A total of 21 men have been arrested and booked into the Fresno County Jail on various charges&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":105288,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":{"0":"post-105287","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fresno","8":"tag-fresno","9":"tag-fresno-headlines","10":"tag-fresno-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}