The Department of Justice, under Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, boldly declared their resolve to lock up child predators during a Wednesday briefing following the triumph of Operation Restore Justice.
Bondi told the press, “This historic, unprecedented nationwide operation led to the arrest of 205 child sex predators, unbelievable, in just five days.”
She commended the work of the FBI and U.S. Attorneys working on the operation. “Children and their families now have a chance to heal. These are online predators. Think about this: 115 victims, victims, children, in five days, we were able to help,” Bondi remarked.
She emphasized the difficulty law enforcement and prosecutors experience when investigating these types of crimes and warned parents about the prevalence of online predators.
“Parents, you have to know, this is so serious, your child has no right to privacy on the internet. None. You have to monitor what your kids are doing. Whether they’re playing games on the internet, on social media, any other websites that children, teenagers, frequent, an online predator can find them,” said Bondi.
Bondi cautioned that online predators often pose as other children to manipulate their targets, including coercing children into sending explicit photos of themselves, which can lead to blackmail.
“The suicide rate among teens ages 14-17 has increased as a result of this as well, because teens are taken advantage of and they’re manipulated online by child predators,” she added.
FBI Director Patel stepped to the podium and delivered an explicit promise to online predators.
“Our children, if you harm our children, you will be given no sanctuary. There is no place we will not come to hunt you down, there is no place we will not look for you, and there is no cage we will not put you in, should you do harm to our children,” Patel said.
Bondi reiterated her message in a post on X. “The Department of Justice will never stop fighting to protect children and we will not rest until we find and prosecute every child predator who preys on the most vulnerable. Thank you to the FBI for incredible work.”
The official account of the FBI shared a highlight reel video of the operation with the caption, “The #FBI’s Operation Restore Justice underscores our unwavering commitment to protecting children. Every arrest in these child sexual abuse cases not only delivers justice—it sends a powerful message: crimes against children will not be tolerated.”
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino reassured Americans that the FBI is tirelessly working behind the scenes every day to end the scourge of child exploitation.
“You may not always see it immediately, but this is the kind of work happening in the background. Our teams quietly targeted, found, and arrested over 200 alleged child sex predators in a week. And there will be more. If you harm kids in America, this FBI will make sure you know no peace. You will be hunted. You will be caught. And you will be arrested. Thank you to all who worked hard to make this happen. You saved lives. And we’ve got more to do,” he posted to X.