Police: Dragnet operation rescues 13 sexually exploited children across Texas, Abilene man charged

In a three-week operation, law enforcement agencies across North Texas rescued 13 children from sexual abuse and filed 90 criminal charges against 47 people, according to a recent press release from Abilene police.

The dragnet campaign, Operation Janus, focused on the "rescue of children across North Texas who are victims of online sexual exploitation," police said in the press release.

The North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force headed up Operation Janus and brought "together highly skilled computer crimes investigators" to aid in the "rescue of children in our communities who fall prey to the darkness of online predators," police said.

The investigators worked together between Jan. 15 and Feb. 2 to find child victims and apprehend "abusers trafficking illegal images and videos of children forced into sexual acts," police said.

Abilene man caught in the dragnet

The Abilene Police Department Cyber Crimes Unit assisted in the operation. It resulted in several arrests, including Adrian Alvarez Dominguez, 20, of Abilene.

Dominguez has since been charged with second degree felony possession with intent to promote child pornography.

Dominquez was arrested Jan. 31 and was released from Taylor County Jail Feb. 2 on a $25,000 bond, according to jail records.

If convicted, Dominguez is looking at a possible sentence of two to 20 years, according to Assistant District Attorney Erin Stamey.

All suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Arrests across Texas

Operation Janus included the arrest of many residents from various cities across Texas, including Amarillo, Dallas, Lubbock, Abilene and many others.

Charges included multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, possession of child pornography, possession with intent to promote, online solicitation of a minor and possession of child pornography videos.

It remains to be seen if more offenders than the original 47 will be arrested.

The operation led to the seizure of terabytes of data and electronic devices that will undergo forensic examination in the coming weeks and could lead to more investigations.

The Reporter-News investigative team will be following this story closely in the coming weeks.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Dragnet operation rescues exploited children with arrests across Texas