(Boise) – Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has announced the results of a joint operation that targeted child sexual abuse in the Treasure Valley over the weekend. The project was a cooperative effort between federal, state and local agencies.

Agencies conducted the operation Friday, Saturday, Sunday and early Monday. It resulted in the arrest of 10 people. Suspects were booked into the Ada County Jail.

Five suspects face prosecution for state charges. The other five have been referred for federal charges. The state prosecutions involve two suspects charged with enticement of a child through use of the internet, two suspects charged with attempted lewd conduct with a minor, and one suspect who was charged with both enticement of a child through the use of the internet and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. Of those facing federal charges, four were charged with enticement of a minor and one was charged with sex trafficking of a minor.

“I want to commend the participating agencies for their teamwork and expertise in organizing and executing this operation,” Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said. “Collaborations like this are an important tool in our ongoing work to protect children from online predators.”

The Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit partnered with Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho, who organized and supervised the operation. The collaborative effort was part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is extremely pleased with the results of the joint operation,” said U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis. “Project Safe Childhood (PSC) has been a Department of Justice priority since 2006. Working with our local PSC partners we protect children by investigating and prosecuting online sexual offenses involving minors, which is what occurred this past weekend.”

The Ada County Sheriff’s Office and Ada County Emergency Management provided facilities for the operation. Other participating agencies included Idaho State Police, Ada County Prosecutor’s Office, Boise Police Department, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office, Garden City Police Department, Nampa Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Anyone with information regarding the exploitation of children is encouraged to contact local police, the Attorney General’s ICAC Unit at 208-334-4527, or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.

The Attorney General’s ICAC Unit works with the Idaho ICAC Task Force, a coalition of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, to investigate and prosecute individuals who use the internet to criminally exploit children.

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