DETROIT — A Westland man was among 205 child sex predators arrested nationwide in a 5-day sting.
Operation Restore Justice also resulted in the rescue of 115 children, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in a May 7 release.
The coordinated effort to identify, track and arrest child sexual abuse offenders resulted in Aroul Kaliamurthy, 53, of Westland being charged with transportation, possession, and access with intent to view child pornography.
Kaliamurthy allegedly traveled to North Carolina where he took hidden camera videos of a naked prepubescent child and, according to the release, possessed these electronic devices as well as images of child pornography on his cell phone and personal computers, which he brought back to Michigan.Also charged in the Eastern District were:Adarius Carr, 36, of Belleville, who is facing a charge of distribution, receipt, and possession of child pornography. Federal prosecutors said Carr communicated with a convicted sex offender over an internet-messaging service in which the two discussed their sexual interest in children and exchanged images and videos of child pornography.Scott Rocky, 57, of Centerline, who is facing a charge of receipt, distribution, and possession of child pornography. Rocky is accused of sharing approximately 4,141 files believed to be child pornography with other internet users over peer-to-peer software.
Amor Pedro Martinez, 26, of Ecorse, who is charged with receipt, distribution, and possession of child pornography. Martinez engaged in sexually explicit conversations on a messaging application with other individuals and received child pornography on this application from another user, prosecutors said.
Whitney Williams, 38, who is charged with sex trafficking of a minor after allegedly having advertised, rented hotel rooms and transported a minor victim to engage in commercial sex acts.
“Every child deserves to grow up free from fear and exploitation, and the FBI will continue to be relentless in our pursuit of those who exploit the most vulnerable among us,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. “Operation Restore Justice proves that no predator is out of reach and no child will be forgotten. By leveraging the strength of all our field offices and our federal, state and local partners, we’re sending a clear message: there is no place to hide for those who prey on children.”
All 55 FBI field offices participated in the coordinated effort, along with multiple agencies across the country, including local police departments, attorney’s offices, and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Others arrested around the country are alleged to have committed various crimes including the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material, online enticement and transportation of minors, and child sex trafficking.
“The Department of Justice will never stop fighting to protect victims — especially child victims — and we will not rest until we hunt down, arrest, and prosecute every child predator who preys on the most vulnerable among us,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in the release. “I am grateful to the FBI and their state and local partners for their incredible work in Operation Restore Justice and have directed my prosecutors not to negotiate.”
Prosecutors said the cases were pursued as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.To share tips about possible child sexual exploitation, call 1-800-THE-LOST, 1-800-CALL-FBI, or visit missingkids.org or tips.fbi.gov.For tips on how to protect your children from sexual abuse, visit:
How we can help you: Parents and caregivers protecting your kids
Contact reporter Susan Bromley at sbromley@hometownlife.com
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Nationwide sting nets 205 child sex predators, including five from metro Detroit
Reporting by Susan Bromley, Hometownlife.com / Hometownlife.com
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