FRAMINGHAM, MA (FRANKLIN COUNTY NOW) –A Greenfield man has been arrested as part of a three-day state police sting operation revolving around child exploitation that was executed last week.
40-year-old Kevin DeRosa was one of 56 people taken into custody during the operation. DeRosa is charged with enticement of a child.
According to a statement from Massachusetts State Police, of the 56 arrested, 25 were charged with child pornography, 5 on warrants related to the assault and battery of a child and/or rape of a child, 19 charged with enticement of a child, and 7 charged with failure to register as a sex offender.
State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble said it will take a team effort to combat the growing problem of child exploitation.
“Every parent in Massachusetts needs to know what’s on their children’s devices,” said Noble. “They need to monitor who (their children) are speaking to online. And they need to set clear expectations that it’s never okay to create or share explicit material of yourself, or another person.”
“Operation Firewall” was conducted in 38 communities statewide over a three-day period last week. It was deemed by officials as a collaboration between multiple State Police units, including the Cyber Crime Unit, the High-Risk Victims Unit, and the State Police Detective units.
The department is receiving a growing number Cyber Tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, NCMEC, reporting suspicious behavior online and spurring investigations into child exploitation.
The number of tips received by State Police has increased more than 270% since 2020 and last week alone, NCMEC reported 1,074 tips to the Cyber Crime Unit.
Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan gave his statement of support for “Operation Firewall” saying, “We fully support the Massachusetts State Police conducting these important investigations. These crimes cause real harm to victims, and we commend the investigators for their dedication to holding offenders accountable and protecting the most vulnerable members of our community. Our office remains committed to working collaboratively with our local, state, and federal partners to ensure that those who exploit, harm, or endanger children are brought to justice.”