Hoosiers among 245 international child porn ring arrests

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Four Hoosiers were arrested as part of an international child pornography and exploitation sting that netted 245 arrests in about a month’s time.

Operation Sunflower was an initiative by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations special agents.

James McKee, 51, Crawfordsville, was arrested on federal charges of possessing and distributing child porn. Randall Allen, 46, Indianapolis, was arrested on federal charges of receiving and possessing child porn. Stephen Hill, 54, Indianapolis, was arrested on state charges of child exploitation. Also, Gregory Evans, 44, Evansville, was arrested on federal charges of possessing child porn.

Authorities said the investigation has given Homeland Security in Indianapolis 40 additional leads.

Sandy Runkle has been working to prevent abuse, like child pornography, for 16 years.

"Back in the day it was literally the photos," said Runkle.

Runkle has watched as technology has given criminals a virtual playground for their crimes. It's also given authorities a way to trace them.

"We arrested 245 people on criminal charges of child exploitation," said John Morton, Director of ICE.

In all, 123 victims were identified. Three of the victims were local all under the age of 12.

"These rescues highlight the depth and global nature of this problem," said Morton.

Runkle says the awareness the bust has brought is encouraging.

"We have a much more educated public now than we did. I think we have a public now also that is not as much in denial perhaps when these things occur," said Runkle.

It's still common to think that it couldn't happen to my child. Here's a statistic that might wake you up; 1 in 4 girls are sexually abused by their 18th birthday. For boys, it's 1 in 6. Runkle says over 90 percent of those kids know their abuser.

It makes for a tireless job for authorities.

Authorities are still looking for three of the most wanted suspects in this case. Follow this link to view the Operation Sunflower suspects.