Fifty arrested in Polk County child porn operation

The Polk County Sheriff's Office arrested another 50 suspects accused of dealing in child pornography.

This round of arrests comes almost one year after the Operation Child Shield, where 45 suspects were taken into custody, according to a press release.

Carrie Eleazer, public information officer for the PCSO, said none of the 50 were from Highlands County.

Twenty-one of the suspects were arrested between July 2009 and March of this year, the press release stated. All the rest were apprehended Thursday.

The suspects' computers were previously seized and reportedly had child pornography or evidence of illegally downloaded or traded porn. Images found included children ranging from 6 months to 12 years of age, according to the press release.

Charges ranged from one to 50 counts of possession of child pornography. Four of the suspects were also accused of sexually abusing children.

Eight victims have so far been identified or have come forward, the press release stated.

"During past child pornography investigations, locating child pornographers with thousands of images wasn't difficult, but finding child victims was," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. "I'm please with the hard work of our detectives, who were able to save eight children during this operation who were actively being exploited and abused, or had the potential of being abused again."

Since 2007, PCSO detectives have arrested 141 suspects for possession and/or distribution of child pornography, the press release stated.