Sheriff Grady Judd and Florida officials discussed the details of the investigation during a news conference Friday morning.
POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A seven-day undercover operation targeting human trafficking and child sex predators resulted in 281 arrests, including 17 employees of Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Grady Judd announced the results of the operation, dubbed “Polk Around and Find Out II,” on Friday, calling it the largest undercover investigation in the department’s history.
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Of those arrests, 239 were related to soliciting prostitutes, offering to commit prostitution, and aiding and abetting or transporting prostitutes. Another 31 arrests involved suspects accused of soliciting sexual activity with children. 11 additional arrests were made.
According to the sheriff’s office, the suspects face a combined 198 felony charges and 290 misdemeanor charges.
The investigation involved undercover detectives posing online as children or guardians of children, as well as officers responding to advertisements for prostitution.
According to the sheriff’s office, 13 Disney employees and four Universal Studios employees were arrested in the operation, as well as a local youth football coach, an Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy and a Navy sailor.
Judd said seven of the 17 suspects who reported working at area theme parks were arrested on charges related to seeking sexual activity with children. He also said Disney informed investigators that the employees involved had been fired. Universal told 10 Tampa Bay News in a statement that the four employees involved are no longer with the company.
“If we only arrested one child sex predator with all of the resources we put forward, it would have been a successful operation,” Judd said. “But as you know, there’s many, many more than that.”
The suspects
Among those arrested was Rashion Crayton, 31, of Bartow. Crayton is head coach of the Davenport Titans youth football team, which serves children ages 11 to 14.
According to detectives, Crayton exchanged sexually explicit messages with an undercover investigator posing as a 14-year-old girl before traveling to meet her. He faces charges including traveling to meet a minor and attempted lewd or lascivious battery.
Judd said investigators are looking into whether any children involved with the football program may have been victims.
Another suspect, Dang Thai, 24, is an active-duty Navy sailor stationed in Jacksonville. Investigators said he communicated with an undercover detective posing as a 14-year-old girl, falsely claimed to be 17 and traveled to meet her.
An Orange County deputy sheriff was among more than 100 arrested for allegedly soliciting a prostitute and traveling to the undercover location to negotiate having sex in exchange for money, officials say.
Investigators identified the deputy as Eric Raymond, 40, of Winter Garden, a six-year veteran assigned as a school resource deputy at Independence Elementary School. According to the sheriff’s office, Raymond agreed to pay an undercover detective $110 for sex. He is charged with solicitation of prostitution.
Two other suspects, Derrick Opitz, 27, of Merritt Island, and Odlanier Marrero Rodriguez, 22, of Kissimmee, face human trafficking charges after allegedly offering money or marijuana in exchange for sexual access to children through undercover detectives posing as guardians.
The investigation
Detectives and social services organizations screened the people accused of traveling to commit prostitution to determine if they were being trafficked or exploited. The sheriff’s office said 11 human trafficking victims were identified during the investigation.
Representatives from One More Child, which assisted investigators, said the organization engaged with 93 individuals during the operation and that at least 18 had agreed to receive services.
Judd said the operation also led to the arrests of 32 people whom investigators identified as being in the country illegally. Sixteen had been transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody as of Friday’s news conference.
Judd was joined by several other state officials during the press conference, including Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and ICE/Homeland Security Acting Deputy Field Office Director David Gritte.
Uthmeier said his office would pursue the cases aggressively, emphasizing that some of the suspects were repeat offenders.
He added that no children were harmed during the operation, but warned that the investigation highlights the need for parents to remain aware of the adults interacting with their children.
“This is a big wake-up call for parents. It’s theme park employees, it’s teachers, it’s coaches. You’ve got to be in your kids’ lives,” Uthmeier said. “If you’re going to let them out of your sight in the presence of another adult, you better know who that person is through and through.”
Ingoglia said 12 members of the Florida Department of Financial Services assisted with the operation.
The investigation involved multiple local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, including the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
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