05/29/2026
🛡️Operation Soteria Shield 🛡️
For the past 11 years, Plano Police Department has conducted yearly operations focused on protecting children in our community. We have been proud to take on the responsibility of shining a light into the darkness of abuse that so many children suffer from at the hands of those who choose to exploit them.
Throughout the months of March and April 2026, the Plano Police Department, in conjunction with other State and Federal law enforcement agencies, conducted numerous investigative operations into child exploitation crimes throughout the State of Texas and various parts of Oklahoma. These operations were called Soteria Sheild. The name “Soteria” is derived from Greek mythology, meaning safety, deliverance and preservation from harm, which was the goal of these investigations. Law enforcement agencies worked tirelessly to do just that, bringing safety to the most vulnerable among us, deliverance to children without a voice and freedom from the harm perpetrated against them.
For the past 11 years, Plano Police Department’s own Detective Jeff Rich has been instrumental in being the creative force behind Operation Soteria Shield. Along with Detective Rich, Wylie Police Department’s Detective Chris Meehan, and FBI Special Agents Ashley Cira and Aaron Covey, worked in close partnership, helping to lead operations and aid in the investigation and protection of children across this state. Overall, a total of 91 law enforcement agencies partnered together to make Operation Soteria Shield a success. These investigations involved chasing leads, late night paperwork, early morning briefings, hours of examining evidence, dozens of forensic interviews, hundreds of affidavits and the flawless ex*****on of over 200 search warrants across Texas.
With these efforts, 2026 Operation Soteria Shield has shown to be extremely successful, resulting in:
- 276 individuals arrested from crimes against children
- 425 charges filed
- 89 children rescued from ongoing abuse
- 607,052 GB of data seized
The Plano Police Department would like to thank all the men and women who worked tirelessly in Operation Soteria Shield, as well as our community who assisted with tips directly resulting in saving children and bringing perpetrators to justice.
“Every child deserves to grow up safe, protected, and free from exploitation. This operation reflects our shared commitment to defend children where abuse occurs, whether that is in a home, on a device or through an online platform. The work done by these investigators has changed lives.” - Chief Ed Drain