The Indian-origin vice president of a financial firm and others were arrested in a sting operation against child sex in New Jersey that has led to a prosecutor asking parents to monitor children's use of social media and gaming sites. 

Digant R. Patel, 46, was listed on Tuesday by Somerset County Prosecutor Michael Robertson as one of 12 men arrested when they allegedly came to meet persons who they thought were minors but were undercover law enforcement personnel they had met online in social media or on gaming sites in the action called “Operation Spotlight.”

Robertson said in a press release that after contact was made and “chatting began, the undercover officers clearly identified themselves as underage girls or boys. Despite that information, the defendants engaged the 'children' in conversations about sex and made arrangements to meet the 'children' for sex.”

“The defendants were arrested when they arrived at one of three pre-arranged locations in Somerset County, where they expected to find their victims,” he said.

Patel, who is 46, allegedly thought he was meeting a 14-year-old, according to the press release.

Robertson said that parents should monitor their children's use of social media and gaming apps like Facebook, TikTok, Fortnite and Minecraft because predators may be lurking there.

In a similar action dubbed “Operation Open Door” conducted exactly a year ago, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced the arrest of at least four men of Indian descent, according to nj.com. They were identified as Duraikandan Murugan, 40, Nimeshbha Patel, 48, Niraj Patel, 46, and Naveen Thangaraj, 36.