CHARLESTON — Seven arrests made last month in Parkersburg were part of a coordinated effort by a task force composed of federal, state and local authorities dedicated to combatting child pornography and human trafficking.

According to a release from U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Mike Stuart, the West Virginia Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force made 19 arrests, executed 27 search warrants and secured nine convictions in the district over the last six months.

In early March, four Wood County residents, two from elsewhere in West Virginia and one Ohio man were arrested by undercover officers after the suspects allegedly tried to set up meetings for sex with individuals younger than 18.

Parkersburg Police Chief Joe Martin said the investigations were part of the initiative highlighted Thursday in a press conference in Charleston featuring Stuart and representatives of the FBI and West Virginia State Police.

“Although due to the nature of these cases, we don’t often ‘advertise’ our work, you can rest assured we have been aggressively engaged 24 hours a day, seven days a week to do all we can to protect our children from predators and monsters that prey on our children’s innocence, vulnerabilities and trust,” Stuart said in the release.

The Parkersburg Police Department is a partner agency of the task force in the Southern District, along with the Raleigh County and Kanawha County Sheriff’s Offices.