A Walton man has been arrested for the alleged sexual exploitation of a child as part of an FBI-led nationwide crackdown.
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 205 offenders have been arrested as part of “Operation Restore Justice,” a coordinated enforcement effort to identify, track and arrest child sex predators.
One of the 205 was Jerry N. Butler III, 19, of Walton. Butler made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Miroslav Lovric on May 2 for a charge of sexual exploitation of a child.
Butler is accused of using social media to request sexually explicit content from a child who then created the material and sent it to him using a social media messaging application.
He is believed to be involved in the “764” network, whose members “seek to corrupt and exploit vulnerable populations, including minors.”
Butler allegedly administrated an online offshoot of 764 that operated across multiple social media channels and whose members engaged in extortion of minors, coercive self-harm, harm to animals and the production and dissemination of child sexual abuse material.
If sentenced, Butler faces at least 15 years in federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and a supervised release term of at least five years and up to life.
The FBI is investigating this case and Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. Gadarian is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The arrests of all 205 offenders were conducted over the course of five days by all 55 FBI field offices, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section in the Department’s Criminal Division and United States Attorney’s Offices around the country.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Delaware County man among 205 arrested in FBI crackdown on child sexual exploitation
Reporting by Jillian McCarthy, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin / Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
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