FBI Arrests 350 Child Sex Abuse Offenders in Operation Iron Pursuit, Rescues 200 Victims

The FBI announced Tuesday the arrests of more than 350 child sexual abuse offenders during Operation Iron Pursuit, a nationwide effort involving all 56 field offices and numerous U.S. Attorneys' offices.

More than 200 child victims were located in the operation. One was a 10-year-old boy from Utah whom investigators say his transgender parent took to Cuba. The child was supposed to go on a camping trip with the transgender parent, the parent's partner and another child. The group flew from Canada to Mexico and then to Cuba.

Rose Inessa-Ethington, the child's biological father, allegedly flew the boy to Cuba with his partner, Blue Inessa-Ethington, without the mother's knowledge. The family expressed "significant concerns for the minor’s well-being, as the child was born male, however, identified as a female child, which family members largely believed to be due to manipulation by Rose," the FBI said in a press release.

The FBI reunited the child with his mother after fears that his transgender parent took him to Cuba for gender reassignment surgery. The transgender parent and partner were arrested and charged with international parental kidnapping.

"Operation Iron Pursuit is just the latest in this FBI’s work with our interagency partners to crush child abuse networks all over this country," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Last year through Operations like Relentless Justice, Enduring Justice, and Restore Justice, we set records identifying over 6,300 child victims, taking 300+ human traffickers off the streets, and more. President Trump’s law enforcement team is eliminating these criminal actors at a historic pace and we’re not slowing down."

Those arrested in Operation Iron Pursuit face charges including sexual exploitation, sex trafficking, abuse, kidnapping, and possessing, distributing or receiving child sexual abuse materials.

James Strahler II, 37, pleaded guilty in early April to charges related to creating AI-generated explicit material of adults and children. He also pleaded guilty to cyberstalking after prosecutors said he used over 100 web-based AI models, telephone calls, voicemails, text messages and web postings to harass victims. Strahler created over 700 images of real victims and animations and uploaded them to a website for child sex abuse material, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio.

He is the first person in the U.S. convicted under the Take It Down Act, which criminalizes non-consensual sharing of intimate images and deepfake AI content.

Alber Rodriguez, 48, from New York faces accusations of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy and recording the abuse, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said. "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."

Anthony Greene, 37, of Pennsylvania was arrested in April and charged with two counts each of manufacturing child pornography, using an interstate commerce facility to entice a minor and attempt to entice a minor to engage in sexual conduct, and receipt of child pornography. He also faces one count each of possession of child pornography and possession of a firearm by a felon, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said.

"This operation puts every child predator on notice: we are coming for you," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. "The sexual exploitation of minors is an abomination with no place in our society. We will hunt down these offenders, hold them fully accountable under the law, and deliver justice for victims."

Operation Iron Pursuit follows three other efforts last year. Operation Relentless Justice, which ended in December 2025, rescued 205 children and led to 293 arrests. Operation Enduring Justice, concluded in August 2025, rescued 133 children and arrested 234 offenders. Operation Restore Justice, which wrapped up in May 2025, rescued 115 children and arrested 205 offenders.

"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."