Federal authorities arrest 255 child sexual predators - including a middle school teacher - during a 5-week international sting operation

David Boyle, 49, a middle school teacher from California, was arrested June 5 during an undercover sting operation in his classroom

Jimmy Caraballo-Colon, 25, a former high school cheerleading coach, was arrested June 4 for allegedly sexually extorting a 17-year-old girl from Colorado

More than one third of the 61 victims identified during the sting operation were engaging online with strangers who sexually exploited them

So far this year, federal authorities have arrested 1,674 child predators

Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it has arrested 255 alleged child predators, including a 49-year-old middle school teacher, and identified 61 underage victims in an international sting operation.



The five-week operation, which ended June 30, targeted sexual predators who use the Internet to exploit children and disseminate child pornography.

Twenty people were charged with online sexual enticement of a minor, which investigators are calling 'sextorting.' The crime involves coercing children into producing nude or sexual photos by threatening them with blackmail or violence.

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David Boyle, 49, (left and right) a middle school teacher from California, was arrested June 5 during an undercover sting operation in his classroom



The remaining suspects were charged with child pornography production, possession or distribution of child pornography, traveling with the intent to have sex with a minor and other offenses including rape.

More than one third of the victims identified during the sting operation were engaging online with strangers who sexually exploited them. The ages of those victims ranged from seven to 17 years old and the majority were between 13 and 15 years old.

Overall, 20 of the victims are under the age of nine, including seven who are younger than six years old.



Among those arrested was John David Boyle, a 49-year-old Los Angeles-area middle school teacher who has been charged with molesting a 14-year-old boy, advertising child porn on the Internet and several other crimes.

Jimmy Caraballo-Colon, 25, (left) a former high school cheerleading coach, was arrested June 4 for allegedly sexually extorting a 17-year-old girl from Colorado. Eduardo Arturo Romero Barrios, 33, (right), was arrested June 26 for allegedly extorting sexually explicit material from minors, including two boys, ages 11 and 13



Boyle, of Glendora, California, was arrested last month after he set up a meeting in his classroom to watch child porn with a man that he met online.Unbeknownst to him, the man was actually an an undercover agent.

Further investigation revealed a 14-year-old boy who was allegedly molested by Boyle, a teacher at Royal Oak Middle School in Covina.

In a separate case, authorities tracked down and charged Jimmy Caraballo-Colon, a former high school cheerleading coach, for allegedly blackmailing a 17-year-old girl from Colorado.

Caraballo-Colon, 25, reportedly met the girl in an an onymous Internet video chat website.

According to court documents, Caraballo-Colon persuaded the minor to remove her clothes during a video chat and then threatened to publish a recording of the act unless she provided him with her personal information, such as her phone number and email address.



A Homeland Security Investigations agent scans the Internet for possible child sexual exploitation

In this photo provided by ICE, authorities prepare to arrest a suspected child sexual predator

He then forced her to perform more sexually explicit acts during video chats that he recorded. If she didn't comply, he would threaten to post the videos online.

In a similar case, Eduardo Arturo Romero Barrios, a Mexican national, 33, is accused of extorting sexually explicit material from minors, including two Kentucky boys, ages 11 and 13 years old.



Authorities are also investigating leads into at least three other children: a 10-year old Kentucky girl, and two others in Australia and the Ukraine.



So far this year, federal authorities have arrested 1,674 child predators.