HSI Honolulu assists military law enforcement agencies in undercover operation targeting child predators
2 active duty soldiers and 1 active duty Marine arrested
HONOLULU — Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) assisted in an uncover operation targeting child sexual predators on O‘ahu. Three active duty service members were arrested including a Marine and two soldiers. They used online platforms to solicit sex from agents posing as children. The military members also sent explicit photographs of themselves and asked for explicit photographs in return. Each was arrested when they tried to meet up with undercover agents. They face charges relating to the solicitation of minors.
“Crimes against children are the worst of the worst,” said Special Agent in Charge of HSI Honolulu John F. Tobon. “HSI is committed to providing the necessary resources in cooperation with our partner agencies to catch these predators and most importantly to help the victims.”
“Operation Keiki Shield,” was conducted as part of the Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and included personnel from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Honolulu, NCIS, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the Army Criminal Investigation Command, the Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division, and the Coast Guard Investigative Service.
“As the federal law enforcement organization for the Department of the Navy, NCIS exists to protect our warfighters and their families from the criminal threats, including those posed by child sexual predators,” said NCIS Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Hawaiʻi Field Office Norman Dominesey. “NCIS and our federal and local law enforcement partners in Hawaiʻi remain committed to working together to proactively root out crime that threatens the safety of our military and civilian communities.”
HSI supported “Operation Keiki Shield” by providing undercover agents, intelligence research specialists, technological know-how, victim advocates, and a forensic interviewer. It took place earlier this month.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 Special Agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.
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