During the months of November 2009 and December 2009, the Sacramento Valley Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force has conducted Operation Nutcracker. This operation has targeted the top online child pornography offenders in the Sacramento Region.
During the course of the operation, over twenty (20) search warrants were served in Sacramento, Roseville, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, and Stockton. During forensic examinations of computer equipment seized in relation to the search warrants, investigators discovered approximately 50,000 child pornographic images and videos.
As a result of the operation, arrest warrants and federal indictments were obtained for eighteen (18) individuals suspected of possession, distribution, and production of child pornography.
Operation Nutcracker was organized by the Sacramento Valley ICAC Task Force and was a collaborative law enforcement effort to locate those individuals who were involved in downloading and/or distributing the highest volume of child pornography in the Sacramento area.
The Sacramento Valley ICAC Task Force, created in 1998, is a multi-jurisdictional task force comprised of members from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and forty-seven (47) other local, state, and federal agencies. The ICAC Task Force is made possible with grant funding from the United states Department of Justice and California Emergency Management Agency.
Sixty-one (61) ICAC Task Forces are located across the country. The Sacramento Valley ICAC Task Force is within the Eastern District of the United States. The Eastern District is #1 in the nation for arrests and prosecutions of child pornography related crimes. Even prior to this operation, the Sacramento ICAC Task Force was currently on a record pace for arrests and prosecutions of child pornography offenders.