More than two dozen people, many of them convicted sex offenders, were arrested during a monthlong sweep in multiple cities carried out by members of the Riverside County Child Exploitation Team, officials announced Wednesday.
RCCET personnel, composed of sheriff's deputies and peace officers from various municipal police agencies, targeted locations countywide from the beginning to the end of April, netting 26 arrests, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.
Officials said that in Hemet alone, 52 sex offender compliance checks were completed, resulting in 13 people being booked into jail for alleged failure to register with local law enforcement as convicted sex offenders under Penal Code section 290, and five people being booked for alleged parole violations.
Search warrants additionally were served in Beaumont, Corona, Indio, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley and Murrieta, culminating in six arrests for alleged possession of child pornography, according to the DA's Office.
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Investigators conducted a sting operation involving a San Diego County man who traveled to Riverside, allegedly for the purpose of having sex with a minor -- who was really an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a youth.
Prosecutors said the suspect was confirmed to be a registered sex offender and taken into custody. In another instance, federal investigators referred a case to RCCET related to possession of child porn, leading to the arrest of a man, officials said. Additional operations are planned in the future.
More information is available at www.rivcosafe.org.
