Police arrest man suspected of child sexual exploitation
Mircea Tonoiu, 58, of Long Beach allegedly manufactured child pornography and possessed about 157,000 images of child sexual abuse, authorities said.
Police arrested a Long Beach man last month for allegedly manufacturing child pornography and possessing more than a hundred thousand images of child sexual abuse, the department said Friday.
Long Beach police say 58-year-old Mircea Tonoiu allegedly manufactured child pornography of a female victim and possessed about 157,000 explicit images.
The arrest was part of "Operation Firewall," a multi-agency task force to identify internet predators, which has arrested more than 300 suspects and rescued about 40 children across Southern California between mid-April and early May, according to police and media reports.
Detectives first received a tip on April 13 regarding a potential victim of child sexual abuse and child sexual abuse material, police said.
Detectives identified Tonoiu as the suspect and began building a case, police added. Three days after the initial tip, LBPD detectives arrested Tonoiu in Torrance.
Tonoiu was booked on the manufacturing of child pornography, possession of child pornography and lewd acts with a child, according to authorities.
His bail was set at $275,000, police said.
After the arrest, LBPD detectives presented the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office for filing consideration, police added.
“The exploitation of a child is reprehensible, and this investigation demonstrates the magnitude and scope of the harm caused by these deplorable crimes,” Chief Wally Hebeish said Friday.
To report potential child sexual abuse activity and get harmful material removed from the internet, visit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s “Take It Down” service at www.takeitdown.ncmec.org.
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