Operation Muddy Waters leads to 69 arrests in Mississippi child-exploitation probe

Federal and state officials announced Monday that Operation Muddy Waters has produced 69 arrests across Mississippi in an ongoing investigation into child sexual exploitation, U.S. Attorneys Baxter Kruger and Scott Leary said at the Oxford Police Department.

Officials said the interagency operation spans the entire state and that detainees include people in positions of public trust — including kindergarten teachers, high school coaches, youth church coordinators and firefighters — and some undocumented immigrants who crossed state lines. HSI Special Agent Matthew Reidell said charges include child exploitation offenses, solicitation of minors, possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material and violations involving previously convicted sex offenders.

Reidell said the operation has run for two weeks. “In just two weeks, Operation Muddy Waters to date has resulted in 69 arrests for child exploitation offenses, the solicitation of minors, the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material, and violations involving previously convicted sex offenders,” he said. Authorities executed more than a dozen search warrants, conducted undercover online investigations and seized dozens of devices believed to contain child exploitation material.

Attorney General Lynn Fitch described sextortion tactics used by predators and urged technology companies to cooperate. “They lure these children in. They take pictures. They say if you don’t send us the money, we’re gonna send these pictures out to your family, to your school, to your friends. And they leverage our children for their money,” she said. Officials urged public vigilance. “If a citizen sees something, they have got to say something,” Leary said. Oxford Police Chief Jeff McCutchen called protecting children a community responsibility, and Kruger warned, “If you exploit a child, you traffic a child, or you prey on the most vulnerable among us, we’ll use every lawful means available to find you, to prosecute you, and to have you sentenced to the toughest that the law allows.”

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