RALEIGH — Officials said 82 people were arrested and 17 children were rescued or identified as victims during a coordinated operation between eight southeastern states, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said in a news release Friday.
Seven of those arrested traveled to meet and have sex with a minor.
Operation Southern Impact III focused on offenders who possessed or distributed child pornography and who sexually exploited children using technology and the internet.
The operation began four months ago, which led to three days of executing search warrants, conducting undercover operations and making arrests in the Carolinas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Maryland.
[ALSO READ: Rowan County man charged with sex crimes involving children]
Those arrested were from 20 years old to 70 years old, who were employed at jobs from across the board from a firefighter to a youth minister to students.
A total of 171 law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies participated in the operation.
The operation included:
- 134 search warrants
- 215 knock-and-talks
During those search warrants and knock-and-talks 861 digital devices were previewed and 1,613 digital devices were seized, including 203 cellphones.
“Predators are real, and they walk among us,” North Carolina ICAC Task Force Cmdr. Alan K. Flora said in the news release.
Six people were arrested in North Carolina as a result of Operation Southern Impact III.
Names of those arrested in North Carolina: (Authorities released five names)
- Joshua Hall, Guilford County Sheriff's Office, charged with indecent liberties with a minor
- Christopher John Authement, arrested in Nash County by SBI, charged with second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor
- George Beall, Homeland Security Investigations - Charlotte, charged with federal probation violations, possession of child pornography
- David Kimball, Cary Police Department, charged with sexual exploitation of a minor
- Paul Sullivan, Cary Police Department, charged with sexual exploitation of a minor
Agencies in North Carolina that participated in the operation were:
- Rowan County Sheriff's Office
- Gaston County Sheriff's Office
- Gastonia Police Department
- Catawba County Sheriff's Office
- SBI
- Homeland Security Investigations (Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Cary offices)
- U.S. Probation Office
- U.S. Marshals Service
- U.S. Attorney's Office - Middle District
- Cary Police Department
- Guilford County Sheriff's Office
- Randolph County Sheriff's Office
- Avery County Sheriff's Office
- Forest City Police Department
- Transylvania Police Department
- Mayodan Police Department
- Winston-Salem Police Department
- Henderson County Sheriff's Office
- Cherokee County Sheriff's Office
- Stokes County Sheriff's Office
- Carolina Beach Police Department
- Greensboro Police Department
- Cumberland County Sheriff's Office
- Waynesville Police Department
- Alamance County Sheriff's Office
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