The National Law Center for Children and Families is proud to name the St. Lucie County (Florida) Sheriff's Office as our Child Defender of the Month for September 2007.  Executive Director Richard Whidden made a formal presentation to the officers and detectives in Fort Pierce, Florida on October 9, 2007.

The St. Lucie Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division has been very aggressive in pursuing on-line predators across the nation. Recently, the Sheriff's Office wrapped up "Operation Safe Summer" which involved state and federal law enforcement officers from across the Treasure Coast of Florida working in collaboration with the St. Lucie office.

In a press conference in September, Sheriff Ken Mascara and Detective Neil Spector announced that "Operation Safe Summer" resulted in the arrests of 53 individuals on a variety of child sexual exploitation offenses. Additionally, Detective Spector and the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office was instrumental in another investigation that resulted in two Nevada suspects being sentenced to 10 and 15 years in prison for soliciting sex with a minor over the Internet.

The NLC is proud to recognize the detectives and officers of the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Criminal Investigations Division as the September 2007 Child Defenders of the Month.