Crimes Against Children Task Force Raids Lakewood Home

Law enforcement officers from around Northeast Ohio swarmed a Lakewood home Wednesday morning looking for evidence of “crimes against children.”

The Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force executed a search warrant in the 1400 block of Marlowe Avenue and removed at least one computer, according to eyewitnesses.

However, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office wouldn’t say if anyone was charged by Wednesday afternoon. 

What is known is that the task force — spearheaded by the county prosecutor’s office — carried out a search warrant at the home, said Lakewood Police Chief Timothy Malley.

Malley said one Lakewood squad assisted with the search.

Neighbors said that at least a dozen armed officers entered the home around 7:30 a.m.

“It was dramatic,” said one witness, who asked not to be identified. “It was like something out of NCIS.”

The Ohio ICAC is made up of city, county, state and federal law enforcement authorities across the state.

According to its website, the organization’s mission is to identify, arrest and prosecute individuals who: use the Internet to lure minors into illicit sexual relationships; or use the Internet to produce, distribute or solicit child pornography.

Maria Russo, a spokesperson for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, declined to comment on the search.