ST. GEORGE — Multiple suspects were arrested during a recent statewide sting operation that targeted online predators seeking to commit crimes against children.
The Utah Attorney General’s Office deployed Operation Cyber Spear, a statewide effort conducted over a two-week period in early spring that involved multiple agencies.
Officers working undercover were deployed “to expose adults seeking to harm children and perpetuate child sexual abuse material,” according to a press release issued by the Utah Attorney General’s Office.
The joint investigations were part of Operation Cyber Spear and involved more than 20 law enforcement agencies and hosted by three police departments.
“The Utah Attorney General’s Office would like to convey appreciation to all who participated and to Ogden City, Lehi City and St. George City Police Departments for hosting the operation,” the news release said.
In addition to 10 arrests, three search warrants were served, and additional arrests are possible, police said.
St. George Police Sgt. Adam Olmstead told St. George News that the St. George Police Department has four detectives assigned to the ICAC task force that covers the entire state. In addition to participating in sting operations in the local area, Olmstead said they follow up on tips that are sent from the Utah Attorney General’s Office.
Officers can trace suspects in St. George using the information provided to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Cyber Tip Line. This involves activity in Utah or cases where the IP address of a digital device is used to download or transmit sexually explicit images involving children.
In March, a report was routed to St. George from the Utah Attorney General’s office for follow-up, which also happened during the undercover sting operation taking place in St. George. They sent several task force officers to a residence and executed a search warrant.
During the search, Olmstead said, they seized several external hard drives, computers and other digital devices that were sent to the digital forensics lab for analysis. He also said the investigation is ongoing, so he was unable to release further details.
Olmstead said the importance of participating in multi-jurisdictional sting operations that involve internet crimes against children cannot be overstated — the focus is simple.
“We are targeting people that are targeting children,” he said.
As advances in technology move at a rapid pace, so do the number of internet crimes involving sexual abuse of children. These advances have fueled the need for coordinated police operations focused on identifying and arresting those responsible and getting them off the streets.
“If we aren’t combatting these types of crimes, then these perpetrators have nothing to fear,” Olmstead stated.
A Washington City man, 51-year-old Damon Roy Campbell, was arrested during an ICAC sting operation in October of last year when he arrived to meet with what he believed was a 6-year-old boy. Several task force agents greeted him instead.
Shortly after the arrest, law enforcement officers located several videos during the sting operation in October — videos that depicted “graphic sexual content between adults and infants, adults and toddlers, and adults and preteens.”
Five months later, the case was picked up by federal prosecutors. Campbell was indicted on one count of coercion/enticement and one count of possession of child pornography. If convicted, the sentence for possession of child pornography is between 15-40 years in prison. The enticement charge carries a sentence of 10 years to life in a federal prison.
Olmstead said joint task force operations protect children all across the country — and beyond — due to the fact the material that is being sent across the internet. Most child pornography is created in places outside Utah, which means there are victims in states.
“We are committed to protecting as many children as we can,” Olmstead said. “Because when you think about it, as law enforcement — that is the most important job we can do.”
Operation Cyber Spear included 70 officers from the Utah Attorney General’s Office, Homeland Security Investigation, the Secret Service, Adult Probation and Parole, as well as multiple city and county police departments across the state.
Locally, two ICAC affiliate agencies in Southern Utah, the St. George Police Department and the Iron County Sheriff’s Office, participated.
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.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.