Eighteen men, mostly from Virginia, have been convicted of more than 40 felony charges of online solicitation of minors, a Virginia-based task force announced Friday.
The men, who lived in Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia, were sentenced to a total of 128 years in prison after an investigation by the Northern Virginia-District of Columbia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Virginia State Police Sgt. R.J. Brown III, supervisor of the task force, said in a statement that most of the men “conducted their illegal solicitation of minors through social media apps and gaming platforms popular with children. Handing over a phone or iPad to your child without any digital safeguards or discussions about what is appropriate and safe usage is the same as handing over your child to any one of these predators.”
The men were all convicted of online solicitation of a minor under 15; one was also convicted of distribution of child sex abuse material.
