WINTER HAVEN - In the most successful undercover sting operation to date, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said it arrested 38 men on charges of trying to engage in sex acts with minors using the internet.
It was a dragnet operation that included 14 law enforcement agencies throughout Florida and featured undercover sheriff's deputies posing as children on the web.
"You see people here. I see monsters," said Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County during a news conference. He pointed to a poster with the mugshots of the suspects. "I see sexual monsters who want to attack children," Judd said.
Three of the suspects are from the Bay Area, including David Anthony, 24, of Tampa, and Wilson Siliva, 31, of Brooksville. Silva is a registered sex offender.
Randy May of Lake Wales was one of two suspects who was arrested at his home. Deputies said he weighed 500 pounds and was too large to fit into a squad car.
"Finally, we got one big enough to wedge him in," Judd said. "We took him to the county jail, where we have plenty of room no matter what your size," he said.
From June 1 to June 10, the sheriff’s office joined forces with the Attorney General's Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and several other agencies in "Operation Cyber Child."
During the sting, undercover detectives posted fake ads and profiles on various websites pretending to be children or custodians of children.
Many men responded to the ads and chatted, emailed, texted and spoke on the phone with people they assumed were children.
The suspects solicited detectives who posed as children for sex acts and sent pornographic images and videos of themselves.
They also asked the detectives to send naked photos of children.
Several of the men drove to the house to engage in the sex acts discussed.
Judd said he was especially disgusted with Matthew Chillcott, who is a teacher at Lawton Chiles Elementary school in Orlando. He's also a youth soccer coach. Investigators said he's been conversing with undercover officers since January about wanting to have sex with a 14-year old girl.
A NASA engineer was also arrested. Phil Luna, 52, of San Jose, California, was expecting to meet an 11-year old girl in Polk County to teach her about sex, according to investigators. Luna brought skittles candy and condoms to the rendezvous location.
Disney security guard Mark Noethen, 22, is accused of bringing a .380 calibre handgun to an undercover officer posing as a pimp, who offered an 11-year old and a 14-year old girl for sex during internet discussions. Noethen told investigators he also works in the Navy reserve.
Warren White, 30, of St. Mary's, Georgia, is charged with sex trafficking after he asked to buy a 14-year old girl. "He said it was an opportunity for him to make money," Judd said. "He was going to come to the house to try her out. Then he would provide a $500 down payment on Thursday, and purchase her for $1500," the Sheriff said.
Judd said he expected more arrests as the investigation continued. This is the ninth undercover sting operation by the Polk County Sheriff's Office targeting sexual predators on the internet since 2005.
Hundreds of suspects have been taken into custody, many of whom were first time offenders and therefore not on any government sex offender list.
The following is a list of those arrested in the sting:
NAME:
1. Steven Allen (10/09/1982) Orlando, Fla.
2. John Bandel (11/24/1978) Addison, Ill.
3. Luis bermudez (1/22/1966) Davenport, Fla.
4. Jason Bouck (06/22/1975) Sherrill, NY
5. Casimiro Carino (02/15/1987) Orlando, Fla.
6. Matthew Chillcott (08/18/1968) Orlando, Fla.
7. Daniel Cintron (01/05/1987) Winter Garden, Fla.
8. David Cook (01/05/1962) Lake Hamilton, Fla.
9. William Corley (03/08/1975) Winter Garden, Fla.
10. Richard Corti (02/01/1970) Maitland, Fla.
11. Jason Crain (02/02/1975) Orlando, Fla.
12. Anthony David (08/12/1987) Tampa, Fla.
13. Walter Exantus (07/31/1992) For Benning, Ga.
14. Larry Falde (09/08/1965) Casselberry, Fla.
15. Justin Franco (08/15/1991) Winter Springs, Fla.
16. Richard Green (11/04/1979) Lakeland, Fla.
17. Rueben Jaime (01/22/1986) Orlando, Fla.
18. Christopher Jekov (06/30/1988) Deltona, Fla.
19. Dong-Kyu Kang (08/13/1988) Unknown
20. Ryan Loewen (03/16/1985) Melbourne, Fla.
21. Phil Luna (10/23/1959) San Jose, Calif.
22. Marc Jean Luxcien ( (01/22/1982) Orlando, Fla.
23. Michael Maskalenko (06/081985) Orlando, Fla.
24. Randy May (04/05/1966) Lake Wales, Fla.
25. Kenneth McCracken (04/23/1991) Titusville, Fla.
26. Mark Noethen (04/09/1990) Orlando, Fla.
27. Anthony, Ochoa (05/26/1979) Kissimee, Fla.
28. Joshua Rivas (12/28/1990) Poinciana, Fla.
29. Javier Rosario (07/13/1963) Haines City, Fla.
30. Collin Rosser (06/21/1989) Orlando, Fla.
31. Zleymen Sanchez (11/16/1990) St. Cloud, Fla.
32. Omee Santiago (08/25/1987) Kissimmee, Fla.
33. Wilson Silva (05/29/1981) Brooksville, Fla.
34. Todd Simmerman (05/01/1990) Titusville, Fla.
35. Johnny Thomas (01/20/1984) Palmetto,
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