ELLENSBURG — A Quincy man was busted in a large operation in Kittitas County that aimed to address the growing problem of child sex abuse over the Internet.

The operation, dubbed “Operation Net Nanny,” was the 14th one conducted in the state. Its mission was to target people involved in child abuse and child exploitation over the Internet. The Washington State Patrol started Net Nanny operations back in August 2015, with the agency’s Missing and Exploited Children Task Force, an Internet Crimes Against Children affiliate, taking the lead in the multi-agency operations, which include federal, state and local law enforcement.

In Net Nanny operations around the state a total of 221 people have been arrested over the years and 30 identified child victims have been rescued. In the Kittitas County iteration Roberto Avila, 23, of Quincy was taken into custody.

In the operation undercover officers communicate via websites and cell phone applications with people who have expressed interest in having sex with children. In Kittitas County the potential perpetrators who were arrested during the five-day operation traveled to meet undercover detectives who were posing as young girls and boys “with the intent to engage in sexual activity with children as young as three years old,” according to the patrol.

“While the Internet is a powerful tool for our nation, criminals are also using it to target our communities. This necessitates a need for this type of proactive, multi-agency operation in order to combat these horrible crimes,” WSP Chief John Batiste said. “This operation is protecting our vulnerable children and making communities safer.”

Primary crimes investigated over the course of the investigation were: rape of a child in the first and second-degree, commercial sexual abuse of a minor, possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, communication with a minor for immoral purposes, involving a person under 18 in an unlawful controlled substance transaction and distribution to persons under 18.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at rbyrd@columbiabasinherald.com.