Ten years ago, DA Greg Willis asked two of the most respected cyber investigators in the country—Jeff Rich with Plano Texas Police Department and Chris Meehan, then with the Collin County Sheriff’s Office:
“Why can’t we do this here?”
That one question—posed not in front of cameras, but around a table—launched a bold new operation in Collin County. It led to 19 arrests and proved that when elite investigators and committed prosecutors team up, predators can be stopped and children can be saved.
(𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘋𝘈’𝘴 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 Wylie Police Department.)
Since that first effort, the operation has grown into a powerful, coordinated, statewide initiative—operating under a new name each year but always with the same mission: rescue the victims, take down the predators.
This year’s month-long operation—led by FBI – Dallas and the North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force—brought together more than 70 Texas agencies. The results were staggering:
109 children rescued 244 arrests 213 Terabytes of digital evidence seized—opening the door to even more rescues and prosecutionsDA Greg Willis joined law enforcement leaders at the press conference announcing the results.
“More than a hundred children rescued. That’s not just enforcement—that’s rescue. That’s redemption,” said DA Greg Willis. “To the officers, the agents, and every partner who refuses to look away—you are stopping evil in its tracks. On behalf of the people of Collin County and my office—we say thank you.”
𝘛𝘰𝘱 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦: 𝘈𝘯𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘸, 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘈’𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵
For the FBI’s full press release on Operation Soteria Shield: https://www.fbi.gov/…/fbi-dallas-and-the-north-texas…
