The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that a seven-day undercover operation led to 281 arrests, including 31 men accused of trying to have sex with children and two charged with human trafficking.
The operation, called “Polk Around and Find Out II,” focused on people who prey on children and travel to meet them for sex, as well as on human trafficking. Investigators identified 11 trafficking victims and offered them services.
Of the 281 arrests, 239 were tied to soliciting prostitutes, offering to commit prostitution, or aiding or transporting prostitutes. Thirty-one involved child sexual predators, and 11 were other arrests. The suspects face a combined 198 felony and 290 misdemeanor charges. Their earlier criminal histories included 358 felonies and 440 misdemeanors.
Detectives from the sheriff’s office worked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, the Florida Department of Financial Services and the State Attorney’s Office for the 10th Judicial Circuit. Police departments in Auburndale, Bartow, Davenport, Lakeland, Lake City and Lake Wales took part, along with sheriff’s offices in Columbia, Hardee, Hillsborough, Marion and Osceola counties. The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Secret Service also helped.
Seventeen suspects told detectives they work at local theme parks or resorts, including Disney World and Universal Studios. Seven of them were among those accused of child sex crimes. Thirty-two suspects were in the country illegally, from nine countries. Twenty-two suspects collect public assistance, which the sheriff’s office said totals $8,373 a month, or $100,476 a year.
Polk Around and Find Out
Detectives said 117 suspects were arrested for soliciting a prostitute and traveling to an undercover location to negotiate sex for money. One is Orange County Deputy Sheriff Eric Raymond. The 122 suspects who traveled to commit prostitution were screened by detectives, the group One More Child and the Florida Department of Children and Families to find out whether they were being trafficked or exploited. All were offered services.
In the child predator cases, the sheriff’s office said 31 suspects communicated online with people they believed were children or guardians of children. Detectives said the suspects were explicit about what they wanted to do.
“It is extremely disturbing when we encounter nasty child predators like these who are very eager to have sex with children,” Sheriff Grady Judd said. “This is why we conduct these types of undercover operations. During this investigation, we arrested 7 predators who work at local theme parks, and a children’s football and cheerleading coach. 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. Keeping children safe is our number one priority, and we appreciate our partnering agencies, without whom we would not be as successful in apprehending these dangerous offenders.”
Raymond, 40, of Winter Garden, has been an Orange County deputy for six years and is assigned as a school resource deputy at Independence Elementary School, according to the sheriff’s office. Detectives said he answered an online ad placed by an undercover detective and agreed to pay $110 for sex. He told detectives he is married. He was charged with one count of solicitation of a prostitute, a first-degree misdemeanor.
“Orange County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Eric Raymond should have known better,” Judd said. “His actions demonstrate moral turpitude. The online prostitution industry enables and empowers human traffickers, allowing them to profit off the people they exploit. Our goal is to identify victims, offer them help, and arrest those who are fueling the exploitation of human beings like Eric Raymond and those profiting from the exploitation of human beings. Prostitution is not a victimless crime – it results in human exploitation, misery, disease, dysfunction, drug and alcohol addiction, violence, and broken families.”
Polk Around and Find Out
Two other men were highlighted in the solicitation cases. Tony Rossman, 51, of Emporium, Pennsylvania, agreed to pay $100 for a half-hour of sex. Detectives said that after his arrest, he asked to call his wife, whom he had dropped off at a Walmart in Clermont. He had told her he was going to get a massage. Detectives contacted family members to pick her up. He was charged with one count of solicitation.
Clarence Fluker Jr., 53, of Leesburg, also agreed to pay $100 for a half-hour of sex, detectives said. He told them he was divorced. After the arrest, Judd received an email from a woman who said she was Fluker’s estranged wife. She wrote that he has a “serious addiction to sex workers, porn, and now methamphetamine.” She asked the sheriff to highlight the arrest at the news conference and said Fluker was supposed to travel to Virginia that weekend to meet his first grandchild. Fluker was charged with one count of solicitation.
Among the 31 child predator suspects, detectives said the men sent messages to undercover detectives posing as 13- or 14-year-old children or their guardians. Most drove to an undercover location, where they were taken into custody. They were charged with offenses that include traveling to meet a minor, using a computer to seduce a child or solicit a guardian, using a two-way communication device to commit a felony and attempted lewd or lascivious battery on a minor.
Several of the suspects told detectives where they work. Adam Snyder, 24, of Champions Gate, said he works in Toy Story Land at Disney World, and part of his uniform and his Disney badge were found in his vehicle. Alex Camacho, 25, of Kissimmee, said he works in food services at Disney World. Brandon Quispe, 27, of Davenport, said he works in human resources there. Colin Gormican, 28, of Davenport, said he works at the Slinky Dog ride. Collin Klaco, 24, of Clermont, said he used to dress as Mickey Mouse. Randy Brunet, 26, of Kissimmee, said he works at various Disney resorts.
Rashion Crayton, 31, of Bartow, is the head coach of the Davenport Titans in the Mid-Florida youth football and cheer conference, which coaches children ages 11 to 14, according to the sheriff’s office. Detectives said he sent explicit messages to an undercover detective posing as a 14-year-old girl and arrived at the location with lubricant and sex toys. He was charged with traveling to meet a minor, using a computer to seduce a child, using a two-way communication device to commit a felony and attempted lewd or lascivious battery on a minor.
Handcuffs, Source: Pexels
Dang Thai, 24, of Jacksonville, is a petty officer third class in the U.S. Navy stationed in Jacksonville. Detectives said he told the undercover detective he was 17, made several statements that he thought it was a sting, and still urged her to sneak out to meet him. Robert Schulz, 67, of Bartow, is a retired New York City firefighter. Detectives said he was combative when arrested and asked law enforcement to let him go as a “professional courtesy.” He faces additional charges of battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.
Two suspects were charged with human trafficking. Derrick Opitz, 27, of Merritt Island, is accused of offering to pay a guardian $500. Odlanier Marrero Rodriguez, 22, of Kissimmee, is accused of offering one ounce of marijuana for an hour of sex with a child.
Hernan Sanchez Rangel, 29, of Davenport, is in the country illegally from Venezuela, detectives said. Each of his charges was enhanced because of his immigration status.
Some suspects also faced drug or weapons charges. Rumley Moore III drove to the undercover location with suspect Cornilous Merritt, 36, of Tampa. Moore was charged with possession of meth, possession of drug paraphernalia and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The sheriff’s office did not say whether the suspects have entered pleas or hired attorneys. Charges are allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
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