North Texas Child Sex Sting Lands 16 In Jail

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CLEBURNE (CBS11) - Investigators believe a North Texas sexual predator sting operation that landed 16 people in jail is the largest so far in Texas.

Records show men traveled from as far as Garland and Plano to Johnson County hoping to have sex with what they thought was a minor they met online. They were arrested instead.

"Whenever I stop and realize what they were coming here to do I just, it made me mad to be honest," said Adam King with the Johnson County Special Crimes Unit. "I was very upset, very mad about it. I don't like the fact that they would come here or anywhere to do that. It's a very serious problem."

Johnson County investigators say one of the men arrested was already a registered sex offender. Another man, thinking he was texting a 14 year old, asked for gas money so he could get back to Fort Worth after they met. And third man went to what he thought was a minor packing a gun.

"These are not good people," King said. "You got to wonder what that gun was for."

The investigators say they were most surprised by how many predators were lurking on line in North Texas.

"There are so many ways for these guys to get into your child's world," King said.

The director of Johnson County's Child Advocacy Center says they find teens average five social media apps on their phones and each could be a gateway for predators.

"When we hand them technology that is connected or has the ability to be connected to the Internet then really we are handing them a loaded gun in a sense," Tammy King said.

For parental resources or to report abuse or a predator click here.

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