Police yesterday announced the arrest of 32 men for the “evil crime” of possessing and disseminating child pornography.

But the dozens of arrests hardly make a significant dent, authorities said.

“That’s the tip of the iceberg,” said Sgt. Michael Hill of the Massachusetts Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. “We’re going to be doing this for a long time.”

The statewide bust, dubbed “Operation Corral,” was conducted last week by local, state and federal authorities, officials said yesterday while nouncing the arrests.

The suspects ranged in age from 17 to 62. All were charged with possession of child pornography, dissemination of child pornography or both. Some men faced additional charges.

The issue has gained a lot of attention in the last few weeks after the arrest of Newton teacher David Ettlinger. He is accused of possessing child pornography and videotaping some of his attacks on children, but police said these arrests are not related to his case.

Some of the suspects simply downloaded images while others had set up their own networks for sharing the pictures and videos. Thousands of images were discovered and some depicted infants and toddlers, authorities said.

State police Col. Marian McGovern said investigators had to look at “some of the most despicable and horrible images you can ever see.”

She said if it were not for the technical skill and intelligence of the investigators, they may never have made the arrests.

“If you look at the [pictures], these people are your next door neighbors … doing this in the cover of their homes,” she said.

Suspects

According to State Police and the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office, some of those arrested in the sweep include:

Jacob Hall, 27, of Arlington, possession and dissemination of child pornography

Phil Hunt, 55, of Natick, possession and dissemination of child pornography

Raymond O’Hara, 56, Dedham, possession and dissemination of child pornography

Rodolfo Marino Lopez, 37, Hyde Park, possession and dissemination of child pornography

Josue Molina, 27, Revere, possession of child pornography

Carlos Londono-Cantano, 44, East Boston, possession and dissemination of child pornography

Jose Usaga, 52, East Boston, possession and dissemination of child pornography

Jose Salgado, 57, Chelsea, possession and dissemination of child pornography.

Resources needed

State Police Col. Marian McGovern said that while the sweep only took a week to round up the suspects, it took months of collaboration.

These types of cases are “resource intensive investigations,” she said.

“We can always use more resources,” said Sgt. Michael Hill.

BPD helped start sweep

The Boston Police Department has its own crimes against children unit, which investigates abuse of children daily.

Commissioner Ed Davis credited Det. Dan Fagan of that unit for helping to launch the state-wide sweep after conducting an investigation in Boston.