Operation Firewall NR26111cm

The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program was established by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The ICAC Task Force Program’s purpose is to assist local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies with investigating internet related crimes involving child sexual exploitation. Today, the National ICAC Network consists of 61 coordinated task forces, involving over 5,400 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies across the nation.

The Los Angeles Regional ICAC Task Force (LA ICAC), led by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD ICAC), serves 5 southern California counties (Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Santa Barbara County, and Ventura County). The LA ICAC Task Force currently includes 112 law enforcement partner agencies, making it one of the largest ICAC Task Forces in the nation.

Between April 19 and May 3, 2026, the LA ICAC Task Force orchestrated a multi-agency effort known as Operation Firewall.

Operation Firewall Resulted in 341 Arrests and the Identification and Rescue of 40 Children across Southern California.

Operation Firewall was designed to identify and apprehend predators who use the internet to facilitate the sexual exploitation and abuse of children, while also identifying and rescuing those children from their abusers.

During the operation the Task Force conducted proactive undercover investigations across various social media platforms and executed multiple residential search warrants and arrest warrants of child sexual exploitation suspects throughout the five-county regions. These coordinated enforcement efforts resulted in a total of 341 suspects arrested and the identification and rescue of 40 children.

The following are some of the various crimes the 341 suspects were arrested for during Operation Firewall:

– Production/Possession/Distribution of child sexual abuse material
– Lewd acts with a child
– Contact/Attempting to Contact/Meeting a minor for lewd purposes
– Human Trafficking
– Failure to register as a convicted sex offender
– And various violations of parole/probation conditions by convicted sex offenders.

Although Operation Firewall has concluded, the LA ICAC Task Force will remain vigilant and continue their mission to protect our children. Despite the numerous resources that assist the LA ICAC Task Force in the battle against the sexual exploitation of children, there are victims who are unnoticed. Therefore, we are asking the community for their help in this fight.

Parents and caregivers play a vital role in protecting young people by staying informed about online risks, actively monitoring their children’s internet use, and maintaining open, ongoing conversations about online safety. Through awareness, guidance, and communication, families can better navigate and guard against the threat of online predators.

The community is encouraged to visit: www.Missingkids.org/NetSmartz for educational internet safety tips and activities. The community may also report potential child sexual abuse activity and have the harmful matter removed via the service “Take it Down” hosted on the website www.takeitdown.ncmec.org. By reporting the potential child sexual abuse activity, you are giving a potential victim a voice when they are often silenced due to circumstance.

The united efforts of the LA ICAC Task force and the community, in the fight against the online sexual exploitation of children, will surely assist in keeping the child predators at bay and allow our children to explore the internet without fear.