Skip to main content

Texas Authorities Crack Down on Child Sex Crimes, Arrest 60 People

Share This article

Following a three-month-long operation, law enforcement officials have arrested 60 people for child sex crimes across southeast Texas.
 
The 90-day investigation on internet crimes against children resulted in a total of 152 charges and 60 arrests, according to Houston police.
 
Houston 2 News reports a partnership involving eight counties and 65 different law enforcement agencies from across the Houston area conducted 255 investigations as a part of Operation Broken Heart.
 
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said during a press conference that 19 child victims were identified and authorities recovered over 23,000 gigabytes of child pornography and other explicit data.
 
"This is a bittersweet moment we have every year; it's bittersweet because we have to have investigators investigating crimes most people would deem unthinkable," Acevedo said during the press conference.
 
Among those arrested were 46-year-old Harris County Sheriff's Office Deputy Donald Dehnert, former Houston police sergeant Stephen McGee, and Joshua Janeck, a local elementary school music teacher.
 
Janeck was charged with possessing and promoting child pornography in April after authorities found hundreds of images and videos of child pornography.
 
McGee was charged with five counts of possession of child erotica and Dehnert faces three counts of child pornography and was arrested in March.
 
ABC3 reported that two of the files on Dehnert's flash drive were pictures of naked children below the age of two. The other file was a girl believed to be in the 6- to 8-year-old range. Authorities also said Dehnert was armed with an AR-15 so he could allegedly sexually assault the young female victim and rob her.
 
"Like we said last year, it is really important for parents to realize that they have to be vigilant when their kids, especially, are on the internet," Acevedo said. "They need to keep track of who they are talking to...Please make sure they are not in a location in the house where they are hidden in a room. Keep those devices in the living room, the family room or wherever your family time is at."
 
Operation Broken Heart with the Justice Department's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program has been working to bring relief to children across Texas who are being victimized for the last 5 years.
 
Texas authorities warn, "if you think about committing one of these crimes, you might be speaking with one of our investigators."
 
"We are committed to eradicating this problem," Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen said. "All of these law enforcement agencies have come together to ensure we end this problem. We want to prevent people from preying on our children."

Share This article

About The Author

Kayla
Root