Child predator investigation in Livingston Parish featured on celebrity true crime series
WALKER, La. (Louisiana First News) — Last month, a three-day sting operation led to 11 arrests in Livingston Parish. Deputies got a bonus from working with a celebrity investigator.
Chris Hansen is known for his work on Dateline's 'To Catch a Predator' and series like 'Takedown with Chris Hansen,' which is on his true crime streaming service, TruBlu. The veteran journalist has become famous in popular society for his investigations alongside law enforcement agencies about child sexual predators.
'Twenty-one years into doing these predator investigations, and guys are still showing up,' Hansen said.
In February, Hansen and deputies with LPSO's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force set up at a home to catch people. Deputies pretended to be a 14-year-old child online, and some men pursued the fake child to the point of agreeing to show up to the home for sexual purposes.
The sting resulted in 11 arrests, including a Baton Rouge school worker, future police officer and people from different backgrounds and occupations.
'Next thing you know, here we are, arresting this person who's coming after this child,' said Sheriff Jason Ard.
The task force started in October 2023 when the Louisiana Attorney General's Office partnered with LPSO to create a unit specifically targeting child predators. Ard said the group started with only one investigator and has quickly grown as the work is proven necessary. The work led to 56 arrests across the world last year, according to sheriff's office statistics.
That work impressed Hansen, who has done some investigations in Louisiana.
'It caught Hansen's attention, and he reached out to me,' Ard said. 'We started having a conversation.'
Ard said the work is far from easy, and no normal officers can take it on. These task force members often spend countless hours conversing with predators to convince them they are safe from arrest, and they have to witness some of humanity's worst features.
'Sometimes 24/7, they are dealing with these predators, trying to get them,' Ard said.
Hansen said the sting was worthwhile, and he respects the deputies who led the way.
'It was very successful, as you've seen,' Hansen said.
Hansen said it is important for parents to stay vigilant. Predators can use any type of social media account to target children, and even ones that seem protected can be home to criminals.
'It's harder to detect now, but it's happening more than ever before,' Hansen said.
The full investigations can be seen on the streaming service TruBlu along with other sting operations Hansen has been part of across the country.
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