Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the arrest of 48 individuals in an extensive six-day undercover child exploitation sting on Wednesday, which targeted adults allegedly attempting to solicit sex with minors. The arrests included six foreign nationals from Jamaica, El Salvador, Dubai, and India traveling to Florida to prey on children.
The annual operation, dubbed “Seek and You Shall Find,” marks the highest number of arrests made in the operation’s history to protect children from child predators. The sting was led by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and included numerous local, state, and federal partners.
“As a father, I am outraged by the heinous crimes we spoke about today. As Attorney General, I’m proud of the brave officers behind this record-breaking operation,” Uthmeier said in a release. “They came after children, but Florida and federal law enforcement were waiting for them. Thanks to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office for putting this operation together so these men were stopped before they could harm a single child.”
According to Uthmeier, the alleged predators largely used Snapchat, a popular messaging app, to engage and meet with minors. The minors, however, were undercover officers.
The attorney general is also suing Snapchat, accusing the company of deceiving parents about the risks associated with using the platform. The lawsuit, filed in April, argues Snapchat has knowingly and willingly violated Florida law, including the protections established in last year’s HB3 and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The defendants in the sting include the following charges:
- Traveling to Meet a Minor for Illegal Sexual Conduct (34)
- Human Trafficking (5)
- Using a Computer to Solicit a Child for Sexual Conduct (48)
- Unlawful Use of a Two-Way Communications Device to Facilitate a Felony (40)
- Transmitting Material Harmful to a Minor (14)
- Traveling to Meet a Minor for Illegal Sexual Conduct Facilitated by a Guardian (1)
- Using a Computer to Solicit a Guardian for Illegal Sexual Conduct with a Child (1)
“My office routinely conducts these types of operations. With each operation, we catch more and more. The number of offenders only goes up,” Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said. “Parents, we will never arrest every single one of them. You have to know what your child is doing online, and children have to know what dangers are lurking online.”
