By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News

A statewide network of police officers, as a part of the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Office of the Utah Attorney General, announced 15 arrests on Wednesday as a part of ‘Operation Hive Strike.’ Targeting Davis, Salt Lake, Summit, Utah and Weber Counties, the four-day operation worked to locate and apprehend individuals who were actively using the internet to sexually exploit children.

Over 80 task force agents from 31 federal, state, and law enforcement agencies participated in the operation. The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office is one of the organizations credited as a part of ‘Operation Hive Strike.’

To conduct these operations, task force agents posed as children online across various social media platforms. The purpose of this was to” find individuals who sought to meet children in person for sexual activity.” Agents were able to secure 10 residential search warrants at the homes of individuals who allegedly downloaded, viewed, and distributed child sexual abuse material. 

The 15 arrests thus far have resulted in a variety of felony and misdemeanor arrests, including but not limited to sexual exploitation of a minor, dealing in harmful materials to a minor, enticing a minor, aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, aggravated sexual abuse of a child, sodomy on a child, possession of a controlled substance and possession of a stolen firearm. 

A release from the Office of the Utah Attorney General reads,” To report any incidents regarding sexual exploitation of a minor, please contact the Utah ICAC Tip Line at 801-281-1211 or utahicac@agutah.gov.” 

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.