20 Men Arrested In Kitsap 'Net Nanny' Operation: State Patrol

GIG HARBOR, WA - Twenty men from around Western Washington were arrested recently in a "net nanny" sting - where police pose as underage girls and boys on the internet to catch sexual predators. The most recent sting was run out of Kitsap County, but some of the men arrested are from cities like Puyallup, Renton, and Seattle.

The undercover police identified hundreds of people interested in having sex with children. Only the men who traveled to meet with the officers posing as children were arrested. The men were arrested on charges including commercial sex abuse of a minor, possession of child pornography, communicating with a minor for immoral purposes, and drug violations.

"The Internet has become a hunting ground for sexual predators that are targeting our vulnerable children," state patrol Chief John R. Batiste said in a press release. "This multi-agency operation is taking dangerous individuals off the streets and making communities safer for families."

In addition to the 20 men arrested, police found 18 children who were identified as potential sex abuse victims. This most recent net nanny operation was the eighth in the state since 2015. The state patrol Missing and Exploited Children Task Force (MECTF) has run other operations this year in Tacoma and the Tri-Cities area; 38 men were arrested in those two operations.

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