Inside Reno’s HEAT Sting: What It Reveals About Sex Crime in Reno
While the local news focuses on a police commander being arrested, I explain how the sting worked, the state of trafficking, and the implications for Reno.
Oct 23, 2025
The Headline Facts
Over two days in mid-October, a regional task force targeting sexual exploitation of minors arrested 13 people in the Reno area—including Thomas “Tom” Robinson, 52, a former Reno Police Department deputy chief who retired in January 2024. As of Sunday, October 19, Robinson is out on $30,000 bail in a move that has angered many people in Reno.
According to police and local reporting, suspects contacted undercover detectives—who were posing online as minors—to arrange sexual encounters and then arrived at a northwest Reno residence, where arrests were made. Robinson was booked on soliciting a 17-year-old for prostitution and attempted child abuse for sexual exploitation and remained in custody as of the latest reports.
The operation was run by the Regional Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) unit with multi-agency partners. Authorities emphasized a “major concern” that this may not have been the first time some of the arrestees engaged in such behavior, noting that contacts were initiated over “various online platforms as well as social media.”
Sting Operation Reno 911 YouTube Video
Sex trafficking was an issue in Reno when this comedy episode of Reno 911 was made in 2008. It shows a sting operation, where people are lured to a location and they attempt to engage in prohibited activity with an undercover agent, similar to what happened this time for real.
Who was Arrested, and the Range of Alleged Conduct
The sweep netted a mix of charges that show both “demand” (buyers soliciting minors) and more severe alleged conduct, including luring, attempted sexual assault, attempted kidnapping, attempted child abuse for sexual exploitation, drug charges, and pandering. Several cases involved supposed victims described as 14, 15, 16, and 17, and at least one scenario where a suspect believed they would meet a 9-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy. (In reality, all “minors” were undercover.)
How the Sting Worked (and why it keeps working)
HEAT’s documented model blends reactive case referrals with proactive online operations: monitoring social media and “private chat rooms,” setting up undercover personas, and conducting “supply/demand” operations to intercept buyers and identify victims. The unit partners with the FBI and ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) and runs regional operations across Northern Nevada. In short, investigators go where exploiters look for minors—public networks, messaging features, classifieds, and invite-only chats—then mirror the communication patterns offenders expect.
Why do suspects—including someone with law-enforcement experience—still get caught? Interviews and case histories from similar stings point to a recurring mix of overconfidence, impulsivity, and the deceptive realism of undercover profiles. Even when a suspect “knows stings exist,” cognitive bias (”it won’t be me,” “I’ll be careful”) and the promise of a willing minor can overpower caution—especially once a meeting is arranged. HEAT’s own playbook stresses that it proactively mirrors the online settings where grooming and solicitation occur, then controls the environment for safe arrests and evidence preservation.
Is Reno Facing a Broader Exploitation Problem or a Few Bad Cases?
The arrests are not a one-off. In October 2024, a prior HEAT operation similarly led to 13 arrests on child-sex and exploitation charges, suggesting a sustained enforcement tempo—not a sporadic surge.
Context indicators also hint at systemic risk:
Nevada’s child well-being ranks among the worst in the nation. The 2025 Kids Count snapshot again placed Nevada near the bottom (47th–48th range across key dimensions). Poorer child outcomes often correlate with vulnerability to exploitation (though rank alone doesn’t prove causation).
Northern Nevada hosts persistent trafficking/exploitation activity. Local nonprofit analyses estimate thousands of women and girls are advertised for sex online statewide at any time, with roughly 1,500 in Northern Nevada and an estimated ~300 children being exploited in the region at any given moment (methodologies vary and are debated, but the order of magnitude is sobering).
Regional infrastructure is evolving to respond. Alongside RPD’s HEAT, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office launched the HERO unit in 2024 to dismantle trafficking networks and support victim recovery. Another sign agencies view this as an ongoing, not episodic, threat.
Taken together, the pattern of arrests, the state’s child-well-being headwinds, and the standing of multiple dedicated units imply a meaningful, persistent problem—one that requires both demand-side enforcement and victim-centered services.
What the Robinson Arrest Means for Public Trust
When a former deputy chief appears on the same docket as alleged child-sex offenders, the optics amplify public alarm. Fair-process caveats apply—charges are allegations—but the case raises challenging questions:
Internal culture & accountability: How does a long-serving senior officer get to this point? Did colleagues notice warning signs?
Retiree risk: Do former officers, confident in their knowledge of tactics, underestimate stings?
Deterrence vs. displacement: Do high-profile arrests deter buyers—or merely push them to more encrypted, insular venues?
Those are answerable only through court records, internal reviews, and longitudinal data. For now, the Robinson arrest underscores that status does not immunize anyone from exploitation risk—or from scrutiny.
What the Platform’s Angle Tells Us (without naming specific apps)
Officials and reporters did not publish the platforms used in the October operation—a common practice to protect active methods and prevent offender adaptation. But HEAT’s public materials are explicit: social media, private chat rooms, and online classifieds/messaging are core to both grooming and buyer contact. Expect continued use of Direct Messages, closed groups, and invite-only spaces, with hand-offs to encrypted messengers once initial contact occurs.
Reporting & resources
Community members who encounter suspected exploitation should contact local units (HEAT/HERO), the National Human Trafficking Hotline, and ICAC lines. Nevada-specific hotline data show thousands of trafficking cases identified over time; timely tips are often how cases begin.
A Shocking Lack of Awareness in the Department
On 10/23/2025, on 2 News Nevada, in an article titled Reno Chief of Police talks about former Deputy Chief arrest Reno Police Chief Kathryn Nance’s comments reveal a troubling lack of awareness about serious misconduct within her own department. By her own admission, she “had no inkling or thought” that former Deputy Chief Thomas Robinson was capable of such predatory behavior. Nance’s surprise underscores a deeper problem of internal blind spots and insufficient oversight—especially considering Robinson held one of the highest positions in the department. Her statement that the incident made her “rethink a lot and wonder if [she] missed something” raises questions about how a senior officer could allegedly engage in such acts without triggering any red flags, and whether a culture of misplaced trust allowed it to go unnoticed.
The Bottom Line
The Reno sting is part of a clearer picture: online-facilitated child exploitation persists in Northern Nevada, and demand-side enforcement is now routine. The arrest of a former deputy chief is shocking. Still, it mainly reinforces what HEAT has been telegraphing for years: that offenders come from every background, the internet is the front line, and proactive undercover work remains one of the few tools that reliably interrupts that pipeline. Sustained progress will depend not just on arrests but also on prevention, services, and transparency that match the scale and sophistication of the problem.