GRANT COUNTY, Wash. — Seven men were arrested in Grant County over the course of several days for accusations of sexual misconduct against minors. No children were put in harm's way of the accused men. All communication with the suspects was conducted by authorities.
Potential charges for the seven men include communication with a minor for immoral purposes, sexual exploitation of a minor, or rape of a child in the second degree.
Coined “Operation Net Nanny”, the project started in 2016 and is led by the Washington State Patrol, in collaboration with local Grant county law enforcement agencies and several more partner agencies.
In a press release, Grant County Prosecutor Kevin McCrae said, “Individuals who abuse and steal the innocence of children, in person or online, are some of the most heinous and despicable crimes we deal with. The Grant County Prosecutor’s Office will continue to support these operations to ensure the safety of children in our community.”
According to an article by the New York Times, "Operation Net Nanny" involves law enforcement posing as children online. There, when a suspect messages an account from law enforcement asking for sex or sexual actions, law enforcement will then operate to arrest the individual.
This is the 19th operation conducted of “Operation Net Nanny”. Started by the WSP and the WSP’s Missing and Exploited Children Task Force (MECTF) back in 2015, MSCTF and WSP’s “Operation Net Nanny” totaled 301 arrests and has rescued 31 children across the state.
"While the internet is a powerful tool for us all, criminals using it to target our communities’ necessitates a need for this type of proactive investigations by our law enforcement troopers and partners in order to combat these horrible crimes,” WSP Chief John R. Batiste said in a press release. “This operation is aimed at protecting our vulnerable children and making our communities safer.”'
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