TULARE COUNTY, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – Eight men were arrested after allegedly attempting to meet with decoy minors for sexual purposes during “Operation Heartbreak,” the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office said on Wednesday.
Just before Valentine’s Day, Tulare County Sheriff’s Special Victims Unit Detectives say they conducted a special detail dubbed Operation Heartbreak.
Detectives say they set up underage decoy accounts on social media. Immediately, they say adults reached out to their decoys, trying to meet them in person for sexual purposes.
From Feb. 12 to Feb. 13, detectives state they did a “To Catch a Predator” type detail, and arrested adults who showed up to meet juveniles.
According to the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, the following men were arrested on suspicion of arranging to meet a child for lewd purposes:
- 22-year-old Milton Martinez-Rodriguez of Tulare.
- 39-year-old Gambino Zacarias Alvarez of Reedley.
- 18-year-old Jaden Rodriguez of Visalia.
- 26-year-old Eleazar Olivarez of Hanford.
- 27-year-old Miguel Rivera of Porterville.
- 25-year-old Donavyn Castro Escobedo of Tulare.
- 43-year-old Heraclio Nunez Gonzalez of Visalia.
- 26-year-old Luis Rincon Garcia of Hanford.