The Polk County Sheriff’s Office, along with other agencies, arrested 281 people in a multiday Florida sting targeting prostitution and child sexual predators, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.Polk Sheriff Grady Judd held a news conference Oct. 30 at the County’s Sheriff’s Operations Center in Winter Haven, Florida, about an undercover investigation resulting in hundreds of prostitution arrests and the finding of trafficked victims, the sheriff’s office said. Judd appeared with Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier; Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia; Chris Nelson, the executive director for the state attorney for the 10th Judicial Circuit; ICE/Homeland Security Acting Deputy Field Office Director David Gritte; and other agency heads.PCSO detectives were joined by investigators from the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Office of Statewide Prosecution; Florida Department of Financial Services; the State Attorney for the 10 th Judicial Circuit; and detectives from the Auburndale, Bartow, Davenport, Lakeland, Lake City and Lake Wales police departments; sheriff’s offices in Columbia, Hardee, Hillsborough, Marion and Osceola counties; the U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Division; and the U.S. Secret Service.Who was targeted with arrests? The press release said the seven-day undercover investigation netted 281 total arrests. Among them were:239 related to soliciting prostitutes, offering to commit prostitution and aiding/abetting or transporting prostitutes 117 for soliciting a prostitute and traveling to the undercover location to negotiate having sex in exchange for money31 for attempting to set up sexual encounters with childrenWho was arrested? There were 17 theme park employees arrested, including 13 from Disney and four from Universal Studios. One Orange County sheriff’s deputyOne was a coach with the Davenport Titans youth football team, with the Mid-Florida Youth Conference football and cheer program. Rashion Crayton, 31, of Bartow, is accused of sending sexual messages to an undercover detective posing as a 14-year-old girl and showing up at an undercover location for an expected encounter.32 undocumented immigrants were arrestedHuman traffickingThe sheriff’s office said 122 suspects who travelled to commit prostitution were screened by detectives, One More Child and the Florida Department of Children and Families to determine whether they were being trafficked or exploited by others, and all were offered services. During this investigation, 11 human trafficking victims were identified, the sheriff’s office said.This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk sheriff says 281 arrested in prostitution and predator sting
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