Sheriff Grady Judd will brief the media at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon (Friday, June 17, 2022) about an undercover investigation “Operation Child Protector II” focusing on those who prey upon children online, at the PCSO Sheriff’s Operations Center located at 1891 Jim Keene Blvd in Winter Haven.
The Auburndale and Winter Haven Police Departments participated in this investigation, which resulted in 12 suspects arrested for a total of 49 felonies. Four of the suspects traveled to an undercover location to have sex with who they thought were 13 or 15 year old girls. The other eight suspects had warrants for their arrests after grooming and sending sexually explicit content to who they thought were 13, 14, and 15 year old girls. They were arrested on Polk County warrants and booked into jails in Polk and other counties.
The suspects are from Lakeland, Orlando, Palm Beach Gardens, Clermont, Tampa, Kissimmee, Lehigh Acres, Tallahassee, and two are from out of state: Alabama and Michigan.
The suspects were charged with felonies such as: traveling to meet a minor for sex, attempted lewd battery, use of a computer to seduce a child, use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony, and transmission of material harmful to a child.
