FBI nabs more than 350 alleged child sex abuse offenders

More than 200 child victims were located during Operation Iron Pursuit, which involved all 56 national FBI field offices, as well as numerous U.S. Attorneys' offices.

One victim who was recovered in the operation was a 10-year-old from Utah who was taken by his transgender parent to Cuba, according to the bureau. Investigators say the child was supposed to be on a camping trip with a transgender parent, partner and another child. The group instead flew from Canada to Mexico and then to Cuba.

The FBI reunited the child with his mother after fears that his transgender parent shuttled him to Cuba for gender reassignment surgery.

The transgender parent and the transgender partner who assisted the parent were arrested and charged with International Parental Kidnapping.

The FBI said those arrested during Operation Iron Pursuit are alleged to have committed various crimes, including sexual exploitation, sex trafficking, abuse, kidnapping, and possessing, distributing, or receiving child sexual abuse materials (CSAM).

Strahler created over 700 images of both real victims and animations and uploaded them to a website dedicated to child sex abuse material, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Ohio.

He is the first person in the U.S. to be convicted under the Take It Down Act, a landmark bill which criminalizes the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and deepfake AI content that was championed by First Lady Melania Trump.

"As alleged, Alber Rodriguez sexually abused a 12-year-old child and recorded that abuse-conduct that is as cruel as it is criminal," U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a press release.

"This Office has zero tolerance for those who prey on children.  Protecting New Yorkers, especially our youngest and most vulnerable, is our priority.  If you exploit a child in this District, we will find you, we will charge you, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.  We will not stop until those who endanger our children are taken off our streets and held fully accountable."

The FBI said Iron Pursuit follows three other successful operations last year.

According to the bureau, 205 children were rescued and 293 offenders are arrested during Operation Relentless Justice, which concluded in December 2025. Operation Enduring Justice, which ended in August 2025, resulted in the rescue of 133 children and the arrests of 234 offenders. The FBI said 115 children were rescued and 205 child sex abuse offenders were arrested as a result of Operation Restore Justice, which concluded in May 2025.

"Every single day this FBI is working 24/7 to break networks of child abusers all across this country," Patel added. "Let this be a message to criminal actors who seek to target America's children: you will be pursued, and you will be brought to justice."