Seventeen child predators were arrested in Central Florida, facing 49 felonies and two misdemeanors, following a six-day undercover sting operation.
Detectives from the Auburndale Police Department, Orlando Police Department, Winter Haven Police Department, and Orange County Sheriff’s Office collaborated in “Operation Child Protector,” which took place from July 27 through August 1.
As reported on CharlieKirk.com, detectives posed as juveniles on social media platforms, mobile apps, and online dating sites to find those who searched for and preyed upon children in order to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
Nine of the predators boasted previous criminal records, three were Walt Disney World employees and one was a registered nurse.
Savannah Lawrence, 29, Jonathan McGrew, 34, and Kenneth Javier Aquino, 26, all worked at Disney.
Lawrence and McGrew, a couple, worked as custodians in Hollywood Studios, and were looking to engage in a threesome. Aquino worked as a lifeguard at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
“These are nasty, nasty people,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a news conference. “We can’t even use the words that they used. We obviously can’t show the pictures and video clips that they sent to what they thought were 13-year-old little girls and little boys.”
Judd said Aquino left his seven months pregnant girlfriend to have sexual relations with a child.
The 17 predators face a total of 49 felony and two misdemeanor charges, including: traveling to meet a minor for sex, attempted lewd battery, use of a computer to seduce a child, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, and transmission of material harmful to a child.
The youngest predator is 26 years old, while the two oldest are 47.
