BREMERTON — Twenty people were arrested this week in a law enforcement sting targeting suspects who use the internet to connect with minors for sexual purposes.

Among those arrested: the vice president of the Bremerton High School PTA. Boyd Lee Carter, 41, is being held in Kitsap County Jail on $150,000 bail. He is charged with second-degree attempted rape of a child and communication with a minor for immoral purposes, according to the Kitsap County Jail Roster. His next appearance in Superior Court is 9 a.m. Oct. 20.

All others were similarly charged and have court dates scheduled. According to the jail roster, two had posted bail, all others were in custody in the county jail.

The multi-day operation, conducted by law enforcement, county prosecutors and victim advocate specialists, is the latest operation of Washington State Patrol’s Missing and Exploited Children Task Force, an affiliate of Internet Crimes Against Children. The ongoing operation, dubbed “Net Nanny,” started in August 2015 in Kitsap County and has since included operations all throughout the state, resulting in 135 arrests and rescuing 22 identified child victims throughout the state.

“The internet has become a hunting ground for sexual predators that are targeting our vulnerable children,” WSP Chief John Batiste said in an announcement of the latest arrests. “This multi-agency operation is taking dangerous individuals off the streets and making communities safer for families.”

WSP Lt. James Mjor said Net Nanny started with “the vision of one of our sergeants in the unit … He just wanted to try and figure out how to use the little resources we had to make the biggest impact.”

Mjor said Net Nanny agencies pool resources to help the operation catch as many people as possible. He said a large sting is carried out every few weeks or so, but that officers in the task force work every day, communicating with suspects online to catch them before they can victimize children.

“We were in Tri-Cities two months ago. Before that, we were in Vancouver,” Mjor said. “Our limiting factor is fatigue and money. We have very little resources and very little state money to run these. It’s imperative we find people [and agencies] who help us out.

“At any one time, [a suspect is] talking to one of my law enforcement officers over the internet, to what they think is a kid. Our detectives do this every day, 365 days a year. Luckily for the parents of these potential victims, [the suspect is talking to] a cop, an adult, a person with a gun and a badge.”

Mjor said community response after they complete an operation is always “very positive.”

“Initially, there’s a lot of shock that that’s actually in their area. Everybody likes to think they don’t have this problem in their area,” Mjor said. “What’s interesting about this particular 20 people, many come from outside the area. This was not a Kitsap County problem, it was a problem in our state.”

Now that the 20 arrests have been made, Mjor said the next steps include forensic analysis of the suspects’ phones and computers. Searches will be completed on various social media accounts and applications.

“We’ve got a little bit of followup,” Mjor said. “The goal is to identify victims. Are there real live children affected by these people?” According to state patrol, eight of the arrested suspects “have been identified as having access to children at risk of being abused.”

Once the investigation is complete, Mjor said everything will be handed over to the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office.

The people arrested are:

Anthony J. Budd, 30, Shelton.

Boyd L. Carter, 41, Silverdale.

Gerald S. Complita, 57, Olalla.

Timothy C. Crow, 55, Port Gamble.

Seth J. Curran, 30, Seattle.

Anthony D. Diorio, 57, Bremerton.

Michael A. Feola, 44, Silverdale.

Christopher R. Johnson, 38, Bremerton.

Logan C. Kaseno, 28, Port Orchard.

Jainend Kumar, 50, Puyallup.

Teren N.T. Lee, 34, Bremerton.

Kryan J. Lien, 49, Silverdale.

Brandon J. Lum, 29, Carson.

Nikolaus K. Matthews, 26, Bremerton.

Norman W. Pauley Jr., 45, Kent.

Steven A. Pemberton, 36, Silverdale.

Roderick A. Rigmaiden, 20, Renton.

Jacob W. Schaefer, 44, Olalla.

Jerry B. Stock II, 28, Port Orchard.

Jeremy K. Ziesing, 39, Orting.