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Valley Pediatrician Among 16 Men Arrested For Sex Crime in Undercover Operation

By on October 27, 2022 0 327Views

On Tuesday, an undercover operation in metro Phoenix involving multiple law enforcement agencies arrested 16 men accused of trying to lure minors for sex in a Valley-wide sting called “Operation Tangled Web”.

Phoenix Police Department Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit partnered with the Phoenix PD Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, Tempe PD, Mesa PD, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for the sting operation.

Police say the operation targeted the demand for human sex crimes and human trafficking.

Detectives placed ads on websites commonly sought out by suspects seeking illegal sex acts.

Photo Credit: MCSO

The suspects all allegedly solicited and/or brokered deals for various sex acts.

A Valley pediatrician was one of the men arrested after police say he tried to lure a 15-year-old for sex.

Mesa-area hospital pediatrician Bryce David Olsen has been formally indicted. On October 11, an undercover officer working in the operation was messaged by a user on a dating app. The two agreed to move their chat to a different online platform where police say the account displayed the name Bryce Olsen.

Documents stated during their conversation that the undercover officer informed Olsen that they were 15 years old to which Olsen acknowledged and asked for the officer’s birth date. As they continued chatting, authorities say Olsen made comments that were sexual in nature in reference to what he wanted to do with the teen/undercover officer.

Court paperwork detailed that Olsen said he wanted to “cuddle” with the teen and began talking about sex. He reportedly said he “had been tested and was clean” from sexually transmitted diseases. Olsen then offered sex and asked questions about the teen’s genitalia.  The officer and Olsen agreed to meet up at Arizona Mills Mall. During the conversation, Olsen informed the told the officer he would be arriving at the mall soon. Olsen then initiated questions to the teen/officer as to where they should meet. Olsen gave a description of his car. Police were then able to determine his exact location and arrest him.

During interrogation, Olsen told police that he was a pediatrician working at a Mesa hospital and that his car was left at the mall. However, when police asked why he was at the mall, he asked to speak to his lawyer.

Banner Health released a statement stating that Dr. Olsen was now no longer employed with their organization. Olsen has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of one count of attempted sexual conduct with a minor and luring a minor for sexual exploitation, a class-three felony.

The Phoenix Police Department regularly conducts operations with local, state and federal partners to reduce child sex trafficking.