Internet child sex investigation nets more than 20 arrests

VALPARAISO -- An undercover federal investigation targeting child sexual predators over the Internet has resulted in more than 20 arrests, most of them men from Indiana.\nEleven of the men arranged meetings with undercover officers and agents posing as underage girls in chatrooms and traveled to meet them, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.\n"My office has zero tolerance for sexual predators as these takedowns demonstrate and will seek punishment to the full extent of the law," said Joseph S. Van Bokkelen, the U.S. attorney for northern Indiana.\nThe sting operation was set up in Porter, St. Joseph and Tippecanoe counties.\nFourteen of the men appeared in U.S. District Court in Hammond on Monday on charges of attempting to induce, entice and coerce for sex undercover federal agents who were posing as 13-year-old girls. They were expected to have detention hearings this week to determine whether they should remain in custody pending the outcomes of their cases.\nTwo of those arrested were from Ohio, and one was from Michigan. The rest were from Indiana.