A seven-day undercover operation targeting child predators and prostitution resulted in the arrest of 281 people, including 32 illegal immigrants, in Polk County, Florida.
State and federal officials joined the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in carrying out the “largest-ever undercover operation” in the county.
Sheriff Grady Judd announced the results of “Polk Around and Find Out II” during a press conference Friday, Oct. 30, sharing mugshots and startling details of the alleged sexual predators arrested during the sting.
In total, 281 suspects were arrested for a multitude of felonies. The group included 32 illegal immigrants from nine different countries.
Of those arrested, 239 were related to prostitution, 31 involved suspected child sex predators and 11 were for other offenses, Sheriff Judd said. Investigators also identified 11 human trafficking victims.
Undercover detectives busted several repeat offenders, dozens of Central Florida theme park employees, a children’s football and cheerleading coach, a retired New York City firefighter and a sheriff’s deputy from neighboring Orange County.
Sheriff Judd said the 31 suspects arrested for preying on children allegedly communicated with and solicited who they thought were children or guardians of children online, “and were very explicit about what they wanted to do in order to sexually batter those children.”
PCSO detectives were joined by investigators from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Attorney General James Uthmeier, Florida Department of Financial Services and several local sheriff’s offices and police departments, according to a sheriff’s office news release.
David Gritte, acting deputy field office director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Miami, discussed the illegal immigrants swept up in the sting.
The Tampa ERO field office partnered with Polk County Sheriff’s Office in the multi-agency operation.
ERO officers interviewed more than 65 foreign-born people and lodged over 30 immigration detainers on removable aliens.
“Every single one of them will come into ICE custody upon the disposition of their criminal charges,” Gritte said. “The participation of ICE in this investigation ensures that the immigration laws are enforced alongside the criminal law.”
One particular arrest Gritte highlighted “underscores the importance of this partnership.”
An illegal immigrant from Venezuela, Hernan Sanchez Rangel, was arrested for traveling to meet a 13-yaer-old boy to allegedly have sex with the child.
He sent sexually explicit messages about what he wanted to do with the boy to an undercover detective posing as the child’s guardian, authorities said.
Sanchez entered the United States illegally in August of 2023. He was issued a notice to appear before an immigration judge and released under the policies of the Biden administration, Gritte said.
When Sheriff Judd returned to the podium, he held up the picture of Sanchez Rangel and thanked the feds for their partnership.
“This is the bad guy who came into this country illegally that these guys are removing, and he came here illegally and tried to have sex with a child,” Judd said.
“If it weren’t for his team and our team all working together, standing in the gap between good and evil, this guy would have sexually abused a child,” Judd added. “And I’ll assure that if he’s had that opportunity in the past, he already has sexually abused children in this country.”
Polk County is located in central Florida between the Tampa and Orlando metropolitan areas along the Interstate 4 corridor.
The suspects were charged with a total of 198 felonies and 290 misdemeanors. Their previous criminal charges totaled 358 felonies and 440 misdemeanors, officials said.
In another case, Rodrigo Gustavo Perreira, 30, is in the country from Brazil on a student visa studying theology in Los Angeles.
Perreira allegedly sent pictures of his penis to an undercover detective posing as the guardian of a 13-year-old boy, saying he wanted the boy to “suck it.”
Authorities said he also masturbated during a video-chat with the undercover detective, per ClickOrlando.com, which detailed all of the sexual predators arrested during the sting.
In addition, 17 suspects told detectives they worked at local theme parks or resorts, including 13 from Walt Disney World and four from Universal Studios.
In a particular disturbing case, Collin Klaco, 24, played a former Mickey Mouse character and brought diapers and wipes with him in a backpack. Klaco communicated online with an undercover detective posing as the guardian of a 13-year-old boy.
He said he loved “wetting accidents, sex, blowjobs, hand jobs, diaper changing time sex” and other perverted sex acts.
Seven of those arrested were trying to have sex with children, authorities said. Disney and Universal have since said the employees have been terminated.
“It is extremely disturbing when we encounter nasty child predators like these who are very eager to have sex with children,” Sheriff Judd said. “This is why it’s critically important that parents continually monitor not only their children’s online activities, but also to know who the adults are in your children’s lives.”
Sheriff Judd noted 22 suspects are collecting public assistance – $8,373 per month collectively, which equates to $100,476 per year.
There were 117 suspects arrested for soliciting a prostitute and traveling to the undercover location to negotiate having sex in exchange for money. One is an Orange County Deputy Sheriff, Eric Raymond, who was assigned as a school resource deputy at an elementary school.
In addition, the 122 people who allegedly travelled to commit prostitution were interviewed by detectives, the organization One More Child and the Florida Department of Children and Families, and all were offered services, Sheriff Judd said.
