Fifty-eight people who thought they were meeting children for sex walked straight into a massive police trap this month. The suspects, who shockingly included local parents and school teachers, were arrested during a five-day undercover sting operation in Marion County.
The operation ran from June 1 through June 6, 2026, making it the most successful Internet Crimes Against Children bust in the county’s history.
Officers went undercover in online chatrooms to find predators actively looking to exploit kids. During the chats, investigators made it very clear that they were children between the ages of seven and 15. Despite knowing the ages, the defendants kept up sexually explicit conversations and eventually made plans to meet the “children” in person. When they showed up at the agreed-upon locations, law enforcement was waiting to put them in handcuffs…