Operation Janus Nabs 59 People in Child Internet Sex Sting in North Texas

The FBI says that 59 arrests have been made as the result of a nearly month-long investigation into online child sexual exploitation. “Beginning January 16, 2023, and continuing through last Friday, February 10, 2023, law enforcement agencies across North Texas brought together highly skilled computer crimes investigators to focus resources...

By Kelly Dearmore

February 17, 2023

Image: Operation Janus resulted in 59 arrests related to child sexual exploitation.

Operation Janus resulted in 59 arrests related to child sexual exploitation. Plano Police Department

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The FBI says 59 arrests have been made as the result of a nearly monthlong investigation into online child sexual exploitation in North Texas.

“Beginning January 16, 2023, and continuing through last Friday, February 10, 2023, law enforcement agencies across North Texas brought together highly skilled computer crimes investigators to focus resources on the identification and rescue of children in our communities who fall prey to the darkness of online predators,” read the statement released Feb. 17 from FBI Dallas Division’s Child Exploitation Task Force and the North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Several law enforcement agencies participated in Operation Janus (not to be confused with the Obama-era effort to review fingerprint data of naturalized citizens known by the same name), including police departments from Allen, Carrollton, Dallas, Fort Worth, Garland, Grand Prairie and Plano, among others.

“Operation Janus culminated in the rescue of 28 children from online sexual abuse and over 80 criminal charges were filed against 59 offenders that were apprehended during this enforcement action,” the statement said. “In addition to these arrests, investigators seized terabytes of data and electronic devices that were utilized during the commission of these crimes. They are being examined forensically and may lead to the investigation of other offenders.”

The aim of the operation was to rescue child victims as well as apprehend “abusers who were trafficking illegal images and videos of children forced into sexual acts,” according to the statement.

When posting the statement to its official Facebook page, the Plano Police Department noted that one of its officers, Detective Jeff Rich, “was one of the primary investigators for Operation Janus and is known nationally and internationally for his efforts related to the investigation of computer facilitated crimes against children.”

The Plano Police Department also released names and mugshots for most of the people arrested during the operation. According to Plano PD’s public information officer, Jennifer Chapman, there is no further information available at this time.

Kelly Dearmore is news editor of the Dallas Observer. He’s held the position since November 2022. Since joining the team, Kelly has covered topics such as state and local politics, crime and public safety, education and immigration. A native Texan, Kelly has contributed to other publications including Texas Monthly, Dallas Morning News, Success Magazine and Cowboys & Indians Magazine.

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