Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott, along with a statewide initiative dubbed Operation Safe Summer, have declared war on sexual predators.

Due to the combined actions of deputies, detectives and agents, 24 people were arrested for allegedly hoping to hook up with teenaged boys and girls for sex after chatting with them on the Internet.

The weeklong sting in Lee County was aimed at online sexual predators, who authorities said chatted with what they thought was an underage male or female, then made plans to visit them at a location in the county.

When the suspects arrived at the house, a young girl opened the door and then shut it. When the suspects came to the door, law officials nabbed them.

Some 40 lawmen worked together to identify and arrest the accused adults, who Scott said ranged in age from 20 to 74. Of the 24 arrested and charged, seven were from Lehigh Acres.

The sex sting culminated on June 2 following the weeklong operation.

Scott said the suspects are accused of communicating through social networking sites with plans to meet and commit sex acts with children 14 and 15 years of age.

Those caught in the sting come from all walks of life, including the unemployed, college students, professionals and retirees, according to a news release from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

Scott said the operation took three months of preparation and used a home in the county where the arrests all took place. Many of those who were arrested came to the house with illegal narcotics.

“The war on predators won’t end here,” Scott said.

He reported that the LCSO will continue to keep the pressure on sexual predators and that attempts to victimize local children will not be tolerated.

Scott said participants in Operation Safe Summer included the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Special Victim’s Unit, Lee County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Bureau, FBI Innocent Images Task Force, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, State Attorney’s Office 20th Judical Circuit, Charlotte, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota sheriff’s departments; and the Brandenton, Clearwater and Sarasota police departments.

Some of the suspects were still in custody over the weekend, while some were able to bail out of the Lee County Jail.

The seven from Lehigh are:

– Armando Solis, 22, 1148 Pisa East St.

– Eric Arambula, 36, 5114 S.W. 29th St.

– Joshua Manuel Yslas, 24, 3908 W. 24th St.

– Joshua Rivera, 28, 1523 Lindale Circle

– George Moorman, 30, 228 Ichabod Drive

– Burel Brutus, 40, 4305 Douglas Lane

– Onel Coombs, 21, 846 Grant Blvd.

The other suspects who were charged in the sex sting are:

– Gustavo Duran Quintero, 51, of Cape Coral

– Robert Brindley, 26, of Fort Myers

– Paul Cuzzocrea, 27, of Fort Myers

– Daniel Ibanez, 26, of Lake Placid

– William Merrick, 31, of Cape Coral

– Jose Pacheco, 30, of Fort Myers

– Russell Snider Sr., 74, of Punta Gorda

– Douglas Haggerty, 43, of Fort Myers

– Chen Feraro, 33, of Fort Myers

– Josue Cardosa, 22, of Fort Myers

– George Fajardo, 27, of Cape Coral

– Michael Rhum, 29, of Punta Gorda

– Michael Horn, 33, North of Fort Myers

– Caleb Barnhouse, 20, of Fort Myers

– Reginald Charles, 37, of Fort Myers

– Joshua Hill, 23, of Fort Myers

– Alexis Rizo Jr., 20, of Hialeah

“One of the most precious but vulnerable assets in our community is the children and we at the sheriff’s office will not tolerate predators,”?Scott said.

“I urge parents and guardians of children to monitor their children’s activity online,” he continued. “If you don’t love them somebody else will and that somebody else could be a child sex predator, a drug dealer or a gang member.

“Operation Safe Summer served notice that we mean business,”?Scott said.