More than 50 suspects were arrested in Florida during a statewide undercover operation targeting child sex predators, authorities said Thursday.
“Operation Bad Habits” was led by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office working with the Florida Attorney General’s Office and multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies.
During the week-long undercover operation, detectives posed online as children, ranging in ages from 7 to 15, and were solicited by predators who arranged to meet who they believed was a child for sex, authorities said.
When the suspects arrived at the meeting spot, they were taken into custody.
Video released by the sheriff’s office showed authorities arresting several of the suspects.
The state attorney’s office said 58 suspects were arrested in total.
They included fathers, coaches, teachers, a high school student and legal and illegal immigrants, the sheriff’s office said.
“Once again, the amazing teamwork and determination among all of these agencies involved are sending a clear message to child sex predators that Florida has no tolerance for this and we will continue to do everything we can to protect these children,” Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods.
Officials said the investigation was ongoing and more arrests could happen in the coming weeks.
“With nearly 1,700 predators arrested since I took office, we are just getting started,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a statement. “58 more child predators are behind bars and away from our kids because Florida has the best sheriffs in the nation who continue to put themselves in harm’s way to keep our kids safe.”
