Fifteen men snared in Polk County child sex sting

POLK COUNTY, Fla. - Fifteen men are under arrest after being snared by an undercover sting that caught them trying to contact underage children for sex, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said Monday.

Investigators said the suspects were arrested after they responded in person to an ad placed on Craigslist. The posting, by a non-existent parent or family member, offered sex with a young girl.

One of those arrested was a youth baseball coach.

The arrests are the result of a four-day operation. The suspects communicated with investigators via email and were told to come to a Polk County home.

Several of the suspects showed up at the undercover home with Skittles, candy bars and condoms, expecting to meet girls as young as 8-years-old. One suspect brought Vodka and Red Bull, said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.

"It's still a shock to me when we have predators show up with condoms in one hand and candy bars in the other," he said.

"Despite the repeated warnings and media coverage of past operations, these perverted men freely chatted with undercover detectives who posed as men and women online."

During the operation, investigators say nearly every suspect answered ads posted by undercover detectives on Craigslist, the fake ads were for "mom or dad seeking guidance for my daughter" for girls between 10-14.

Judd said the 15 suspects all expressed interest  in having sex with the girls, with some saying they were willing to "teach" the children how to have sex.

Judd said one of those arrested has six children, with another on the way. He went on to say another suspect had indicated that sex with a child was "what he had waited a lifetime for."

The suspects range in age from 18 to 67 years old. They showed up at the home from throughout central and west-central Florida.

This is not the first child sex sting by the Polk Sheriff's Office, which has used different tactics to capture alleged predators in the past.

"We want to give all these predators an opportunity to get caught up in our drag net," Judd said.

He said the public is becoming more aware of suspicious postings such as the Craigslist ad. Investigators say the ad was red-flagged by several members of the community.

"We receive tips and information. It jogs people's memory," Judd said.

The Florida Attorney General's Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took part in the investigation, along with other Florida law enforcement agencies.