EX-TAFT TEACHER AMONG ARRESTED 391 JAILED, LINKED TO CHILD SEX OFFENSES.Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer A former Taft High School math teacher was among 391 Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County residents arrested as part of an international operation targeting child sex offenses A class of sexual conduct prohibited by the law. Since the 1970s this area of the law has undergone significant changes and reforms. Although the commission of sex offenses is not new, public awareness and concern regarding sex offenses have grown, resulting in the , officials said Thursday. For 20 months, Operation Predator Operation Predator is an initiative started in July 9, 2003 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, to protect children from sexual predators. has targeted people suspected of preying on and exploiting children, including human traffickers, international sex tourists, child porn users and foreign national predators whose crimes make them deportable de·port·a·ble adj. 1. Subject to deportation: a deportable alien. 2. Punishable by deportation: a deportable offense. . More than 5,000 people have been arrested nationwide. ``We're protecting the future of America,'' said Kevin Jeffery, deputy special agent-in-charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and is responsible for identifying and dismantling vulnerabilities regarding the nation's border, economic, transportation and infrastructure for Greater Los Angeles. There were a total of 766 arrests in child sex offenses in the seven-county area covered by U.S. ICE Office in Los Angeles. Of those, 189 were in Orange County; 95 in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, and 91 in the Inland Empire. Local targets included Michael Helwig, 64, who taught math at Taft High in Woodland Hills. He was convicted last October of three criminal counts involving the possession and duplication of child pornography Child pornography is the visual representation of minors under the age of 18 engaged in sexual activity or the visual representation of minors engaging in lewd or erotic behavior designed to arouse the viewer's sexual interest. . In addition to a jail sentence and probation, Helwig is prohibited from holding a teaching position involving minors or having contact with minors unless an adult is present. According to ICE, more than 85 percent of the arrests are of foreign national sex offenders from more than 100 nations. Approximately half of the foreign nationals are lawful permanent residents, and the other half are illegal aliens. Nationwide, about 42 percent of the foreign nationals arrested have been deported. ``It involves people from all areas of society - it runs the whole spectrum and it's quite disturbing,'' Jeffery said. ``Schoolteachers, Boy Scout leaders, doctors, clergymen. It's not just some sicko sick·o n. pl. sick·os Slang A deranged, psychotic, or morbidly obsessed person. [From sick1.] sitting on the sidewalk in a park.'' Lisa M. Sodders, (818) 713-3663 lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com |
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