20-05-2025
FBI and Department of Justice's 'Operation Restore Justice' lead to North Texas arrests
The Brief
The FBI and DOJ are conducting "Operation Restore Justice," a nationwide effort to combat child sex predators, leading to numerous arrests.
Recent operations have included a dozen arrests in North Texas, primarily related to online distribution and creation of child pornography, and the capture of a fugitive in Mexico.
FBI Dallas will release details of upcoming arrests in the region in the coming weeks as part of this ongoing initiative.
The Department of Justice and FBI are stepping up to identify and track child sex predators in what the FBI call "Operation Restore Justice". A recent operation led to dozens of new arrests, including some in North Texas.
Big picture view
FBI director Kash Patel says they've been "quietly surging operations" across the country to take down criminals who target kids.
FBI Dallas is working with state and local law enforcement officials and soon plan to announce new arrests of alleged child predators.
Part of a new initiative with FBI field offices across the Lone Star State.
Earlier this month, the FBI announced the arrests of 205 alleged child sex offenders.
They also identified and provided resources to 115 potential victims during a nationwide crackdown labeled "Operation Restore Justice."
Local perspective
A dozen of those arrests in North Texas were mostly related to distributing or manufacturing child pornography across an ever-evolving online landscape.
Some investigations during the operation happened quickly and some took years of work.
After more than a decade on-the-run, Rogelio Christopher Guadalupe Gonzalez was arrested in Mexico and returned to FBI custody for aggravated sexual assault of a child in Johnson and Tarrant counties.
Authorities say the 50-year-old was working in Mexico as a scuba instructor.
The FBI's national office had this to say after its operation:
"It's very important to let the offenders know they are not out of reach of law enforcement regardless of where they are."
What they're saying
Jeremy Wright is an assistant special agent in charge of overseeing violent crime and spoke to FOX 4's David Sentendrey on the crime of distributing or manufacturing child pornography.
"It's really frightening when you see how prevalent it really is," said Wright. "Now it's all the encrypted apps and stuff, and then you know you have platforms that don't want to share that information with law enforcement because that's their marketing strategy, like, 'Hey, we won't share with law enforcement.'"
FBI Dallas says at any given time it'll have several hundred active investigations.
"So, some will happen very quickly because it's a necessity and some will take a little bit longer just because the circumstances."
What's next
FBI Dallas says we'll see details of these upcoming arrests in the coming weeks.
The Source
Information in this article was provided from interviews conducted by FOX 4's David Sentendrey.
