new tonight Fairfax County Police just wrapped up a major online Predator operation as they're calling it five men are now facing felony charges after they were busted by detectives they say the men traveled to the county with the intention of committing a sex act with a minor but when they got there detectives were waiting for them instead our Northern Virginia reporter Marx Marcilla now joining us live from police headquarters in Fairfax with the very latest hey Max well and Lisa police say th
is is an effort to crack down on people who are putting some of the most vulnerable community members at risk it's something you may not see but police say they're taking it seriously during spring break these cops were hard at work detectives with Fairfax County's child exploitation Unit were posing his children online strategically utilizing apps they know Predators use and their 4day undercover operation ended with five arrests we're absolutely not catching you know all of them I wish we coul
d um and that's why we do this job the five men arrested range in age from 24 to 53 two are from Baltimore one from Woodbridge and the other two from within the county one from Lorton and the other from Fairfax we do believe there's Under reporting that admission by deputy chief Brook Wright makes these numbers even more troubling last year the child exploitation unit received an estimated 1,200 tips issued more than 500 residential search warrants and Nationwide online enticement reports increa
sed by 3 323 between 2021 and 23 that's according to the National Center for missing and exploited children the ages of these children the victims of our cases are getting younger and younger I think that's just just due to the access they have um to the internet police say parents can play a role in this too offering these tips be open with your child know their phone password have access to it and charge it in your room overnight nothing good happens on their phone after 8 or 9:00 when they're
supposed to be in bed and one last tip from Fairfax County Police tonight they say check your kids's phone for a second calculator app because it might not be a calculator police say in some instances there are apps disguised to look like one thing but instead could contain a hidden vault of other apps or photos that your kids may not want you finding out about reporting live in Fairfax Max Marcilla DC news now
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