Nationwide sting: FBI arrests over 200 alleged child sex predators, including 3 in Utah

Yahoo

07-05-2025

Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Throughout a five-day nationwide operation, the FBI arrested 205 alleged child sex abuse offenders, including three in Utah.
The crackdown, called Operation Restore Justice, was led as an FBI initiative to identify, track, and arrest child sex predators across the country.
The three suspects arrested in Utah are below:
Gustavo Uroza-Rodriguez : Charged on April 23, 2025, with attempted coercion and
enticement, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.
Melissa Goodrich : Charged on April 23, 2025, with the trafficking of a minor.
Jared Buckley: Charged with Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material.
In the third case, Buckley was the Leader Director of Leadership Academy, a local charter school, since 2014. According to court documents, he was involved with several youth groups and sports teams, with news of his arrest shocking parents.
Buckley was accused of being in possession of over 10,000 images of child sex abuse material, as well as producing and manufacturing it. Court documents also show that Buckley had allegedly been distributing the material through multiple online platforms. He was placed on administrative leave and is currently being held without bail.
'A danger to every child in the community:' Charter school director accused of child porn production now facing federal charges
FBI Salt Lake City Division shares findings
FBI Agent Dustin Grant said local agents and task force officers participated in the operation, working to find offenders proactively. He said much of the efforts are spent trying to identify offenders using the internet to target children, whether in a trafficking or sexual exploration scenario, then working to bring justice for victims in Utah.
When speaking on the three local arrests due to Operation Restore Justice, he said it prevents the further victimization of children in Utah.
'We can't put a number on how many kids likely are saved because somebody is stopped now,' he said.
One trend that's been noticed in Utah, especially targeted at boys, is sextortion. Sextortion is a crime where an anonymous user online will often coerce someone into sending them nude photos, and threaten them to pay to avoid the photos being posted online.
'That's the bulk of what we handle lately,' Grant said. 'That's the scam that is widely known across the country, but I would say here in Utah, that's a trend that we're seeing upwards throughout the last few years.'
In addition, other trends include the distribution of child sex abuse material and predators trying to contact children online.
Grant said the FBI uses tools and resources to find these people who are acting anonymously online to undercover and identify them. He said it's important for parents to have conversations with their kids about these issues, so they can be aware of potential dangers ahead of time.
'The applications that are largely being used are the ones that are most popular to our kids … TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook. Whatever it is that the kids are most likely to be using, that's what they're going to be,' he said. 'Since gaming is really big with kids, there's a lot of social media influence that's happening within the gaming environment where a lot of our victims are being contacted by offenders in those arenas.'
For parents, he said if your children have a phone, be involved in what they're doing online.
'It doesn't mean social media in itself is bad, it's just when you let a kid drive, there's inherent risks and dangers that are associated with that. So just like in a car, you'd probably want them to have seatbelts and you're going to have them maybe ride with somebody for a while, just to make sure that they're safe. That's the same as social media,' Grant said.
He said parent involvement is important to ensure kids are staying safe online, and if they encounter anything suspicious, they should report it to law enforcement or an adult they trust.
'There are a lot of resources and efforts going into trying to do what we can to repair whatever damage has happened to these kids after they're identified,' he said.
He said embarrassment or shame can sometimes stop victims from speaking up, especially if involved in a sextortion case. Grant said if you're a victim of these crimes, know it's okay to speak up.
'We don't want it to be to get worse for them. We do have a handful of suicides that have been that have happened as a result of sextortion and other types of familiar scenarios. We want to prevent that from happening that way,' Grant said.
Other results of Operation Restore Justice
In addition to the operation, during the month of April, the FBI and state and local law enforcement partners arrested more than 190 perpetrators on charges related to crimes against children.
In a press release, the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office said that while the total number of nearly 400 is significant, the details are disturbing, revealing how prevalent the issue is. According to the FBI, among those arrested are those in public positions of trust, including law enforcement, members of the military, and teachers.
The FBI said in Minneapolis, MN, a state trooper and Army Reservist was arrested for producing sexual abuse material of a young child, while wearing his uniforms.
In Norfolk, VA, an illegal immigrant from Mexico was accused of transporting a minor across state lines for sexual activities, the FBI reported. The FBI also said in Washington D.C., a former MPD police officer who had been previously convicted of sex trafficking was arrested for doing the same thing, accused of trafficking additional young victims while on supervised release.
In Louisville, KY, the FBI said that two teachers had been charged in separate incidents after alleged misconduct with students.
The FBI said that the operation was the result of a dedicated and targeted effort, with countless hours of work conducted by hundreds of special agents, intelligence analysts, and other FBI personnel.
'It further emphasizes the FBI's unwavering commitment to protecting children and raising awareness about the dangers they face. While the Bureau works relentlessly to investigate these crimes every day, April serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of prevention, community education and the FBI's never-ending pursuit of criminals who exploit our children,' the FBI said.
MJ Jewkes contributed to this report.
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