ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — As part of a nationwide operation led by the FBI, a woman from St. Augustine was one of 205 individuals labeled as “child sex predators” and taken into custody, reported by the United States Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida.

On Wednesday, the Department of Justice revealed that 115 children were rescued, and 205 suspects were apprehended in a large-scale operation aimed at capturing those committing child sex crimes, called Operation Restore Justice. This mission took place over five days, involving all 55 FBI field offices. The FBI’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section collaborated with several United States attorneys’ offices to carry out the operation.

Five of those arrested lived in the Middle District of Florida, which includes Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Ocala, Orlando and Tampa.

Brittany Karen Firth, 41, from St. Augustine, was arrested on charges of production, attempted production, distribution and receipt of child sexual abuse material.

Firth’s online activities were first flagged by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, according to the DOJ.

The DOJ says that detectives received a tip from a social media and gaming platform company that a user had uploaded child sexual abuse material to their website, and that user was identified as Firth. She is accused of engaging in approximately 5,000 online texts with another user, identified in the release as “Person 1.” The DOJ says Person 1 was a previously convicted sex offender. This person had access to two children and spoke with Firth online about his desires to “engage in sexual conduct with these children.” 

According to the DOJ, Person 1 streamed live video of his “sexualized interactions” with the children to Firth. Firth is also accused of screen recording a livestream of Person 1 sexually abusing one of the children.

Firth faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison, but faces a maximum sentence of 70 years. 

“The Department of Justice will never stop fighting to protect victims — especially child victims — and we will not rest until we hunt down, arrest, and prosecute every child predator who preys on the most vulnerable among us,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. She went on to say she would not allow negotiated sentences for these offenders. “I am grateful to the FBI and their state and local partners for their incredible work in Operation Restore Justice and have directed my prosecutors not to negotiate.”

FBI Director Kash Patel also spoke in a statement, saying: “Every child deserves to grow up free from fear and exploitation. Operation Restore Justice proves that no predator is out of reach and no child will be forgotten. By leveraging the strength of all our field offices and our federal, state and local partners, we’re sending a clear message: there is no place to hide for those who prey on children. The FBI is relentless in our pursuit of those who exploit the most vulnerable among us.”