126 Arrested In Statewide Sting Targeting Online Predators

A statewide sting targeting online predators is now over and it led to 126 arrests. Twenty of those arrests took place in Central Florida.

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Wednesday morning, law enforcement from across the state announced the final results of a huge operation targeting online predators. Using computers and wireless cards, police, deputies and agents from around the state were able to track down and arrest more than 100 online predators.

Florida officials want the message to be clear.

"We are not going to tolerate these online predators," said FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey.

Email News Sign-Up Multiple Choices - Auto sign-up (LEFT ALIGN) GET WFTV NEWS HEADLINES BY EMAIL 9 a.m. Headlines Noon Headlines 4 p.m. Headlines News of the Strange Breaking News Alerts The Florida Department of Law Enforcement just wrapped up Operation Eviction, a statewide effort to target sex offenders who were targeting children. Since January, in stings and investigations across the state, authorities arrested more than 120 people.

"We arrested business owners, maintenance workers, school teachers, healthcare workers and even a law enforcement officer," Bailey said.

The suspects all had one thing in a common, an illicit desire for children.

Among those caught included former Ocala police officer Matthew Edmonds. Deputies said he was sending pornographic images to an underage girl.

The state plans more similar efforts. The State Attorney General's Office has hired 50 new staff members to deal specifically with cyber crimes.

"There is an endless supply of these predators out there and I don't think law enforcement can have enough people working, so we are putting other people dealing with this specific function of law enforcement," said John King, FDLE.

Florida officials had some pretty astounding statistics. They said Florida is the third largest child porn producing state and that one in seven children is solicited online.