Operation Technical Foul
Salt Lake City, UT- Over the last two weeks, multiple law enforcement agencies conducted an undercover operation in Salt Lake County targeting people who use the internet to solicit and entice minors in our community. Operation Technical Foul was organized by FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force around the All-Star Weekend and led to the arrest of 12 individuals over a 10-day period.
All those taken into custody are being held in the Salt Lake County Jail. The cases were reviewed by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office and charges are being filed. The U.S. Attorney's Office will further review the cases for any potential federal charges.
“The safety of our children is of paramount importance. Those who prey on and exploit our most vulnerable will be prosecuted to the full force of the law. This is a collaborative effort to keep our community safe. I appreciate the time that was dedicated to this operation during the All-Star weekend. When many in Salt Lake County were enjoying the events for the All-Star weekend, others took this as an opportunity to violate the law,” said Sim Gill, Salt Lake County District Attorney.
The FBI lead Operation Technical Foul with help from the Utah State Bureau of Investigation, Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, the Davis County Attorney’s Office, Davis County Sheriff’s Office, South Jordan Police Department, Unified Police Department, Tooele City Police Department, Clearfield Police Department, Utah State University Police, Missoula County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations.
All defendants are presumed innocent until convicted in a court of law.
Interviews about the operation are available upon request from:
Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office: Sim Gill is available for interviews. Please contact Keith Chalmers (801)-369-0528 kchalmers@slco.org
Utah’s State Bureau of Investigation: Sgt Cameron Roden 801-554-5659 croden@utah.gov
Federal Bureau of Investigation: Supervisory Special Agent Dustin Grant, who oversees the CEHTTF, is available for interviews. Please contact Sandra Barker (801) 579-6400 or sbarker@fbi.gov