DALLAS, TX—The FBI Dallas Division’s Child Exploitation Task Force and the North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force announce the conclusion of Operation Janus, a month-long operation aimed at the rescue of children across North Texas who are the victims of online sexual exploitation.

Beginning January 16, 2023, and continuing through last Friday, February 10, 2023, law enforcement agencies across North Texas brought together highly skilled computer crimes investigators to focus resources on the identification and rescue of children in our communities who fall prey to the darkness of online predators. These investigators partnered together to dedicate their days and nights to seeking out child victims and apprehending abusers who were trafficking illegal images and videos of children forced into sexual acts.

Operation Janus culminated in the rescue of 28 children from online sexual abuse and over 80 criminal charges were filed against 59 offenders that were apprehended during this enforcement action. In addition to these arrests, investigators seized terabytes of data and electronic devices that were utilized during the commission of these crimes. They are being examined forensically and may lead to the investigation of other offenders.

“The FBI is committed to doing everything in our power to protect the most innocent amongst us, our children. We’re able to achieve this through our law enforcement partnerships at the federal, state, and local level. We work together every day to identify and apprehend online predators targeting children. Operation Janus allowed us to collectively support each other by sharing resources and intelligence to catch predators in the act. It also allowed us to recover children and protect them from further harm,” said FBI Dallas Acting Special Agent in Charge James J. Dwyer.

“The innocence of children must be protected at all costs. I am proud of the work we do to collectively bring to justice those who seek to harm our children through online means and for the rescue of these children from future abuse as we work to bring safety, healing, and justice to these victims and their families,” said Ed Drain, Chief of the Plano Police Department.

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said, “The people charged as a result of this operation preyed upon some of our most vulnerable, our children. I applaud the dedication of these task force groups, including members of the Dallas Police Department, to bring these suspects to justice. We will never stop working to identify, locate, and apprehend these predators to make our community safer for our children.”

Operation Janus is an excellent example of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies working together to bring to justice those predators who seek to harm our children using online sources. As a result of these efforts, our communities are a safer place today.

The participating agencies would like to also thank the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and their dedicated team of Analysts for their assistance in working tirelessly to help stop the exploitation of children online.

For additional information, please contact the following:

• FBI Dallas Public Affairs Officer Melinda Urbina, (972) 559-5629
• Plano Police Department Public Information Officer Jennifer Chapman, (972) 941-2433
• Dallas Police Department Assistant Director – Public Information Officer Kristin Lowman, (214) 671-4065