POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A multi-agency, week-long undercover operation targeting people who prey on children yielded the arrest of six people, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.
According to PSCO, undercover detectives posed as children or guardians of children on several social media platforms, apps, and online dating sites to investigate those who prey upon and travel to meet children for unlawful sexual activity.
Detectives said the suspects communicated online with and solicited who they thought were children or guardians.
According to authorities, six suspects traveled to an undercover location in Polk County on separate occasions to engage in sexual activity with minors. PCSO said three of the six suspects wanted to pay an adult hundreds of dollars to have sex with who they thought was a child; those three were charged with human trafficking.
According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, one suspect called himself, "stupid."
“After we caught him and he figured out it was a Grady Judd and Chris Hanson was there to talk to him, he said, 'Well, I made the decision to come here. I’m just stupid.' Well, you think,” Sheriff Judd said.
Authorities said those who were arrested were all from the Central Florida area.
In total, detectives filed 22 felony charges against the suspects. The charges included traveling to meet a minor for sex, attempted lewd battery, use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony, and human trafficking, among others.
Suspects Arrested and Polk County Sheriff's Office Narrative:
- Jairo Muniz, 40, of Kissimmee, FL - Sheriff Grady Judd said Muniz engaged in an online conversation on a social networking site and via cell phone with an undercover detective who was posing as a 13-year-old girl. He asked several questions about her sexual experience and described the sex acts he wanted to do to her; he stopped and bought condoms on the way. He sent a nude photo of himself to the girl. He told detectives that he is married and has four daughters between the ages of 9 and 16 years old. He said he is a laborer at a scaffolding company and that he told his boss he was going to be late to work the day he traveled to meet the child for sex. He was released from jail on September 24, 2023, after posting bond.
- Timothy Wellman, 36, of Ohio (recently moved to FL) - Judd said Wellman engaged in an online conversation on a social networking site and via cell phone with an undercover detective who was posing as a 14-year-old girl. He told her she was cute and described the sex acts he wanted to do to her. He told detectives that he is divorced and his two kids, ages 5 and 6, live with his ex-wife in Kentucky. He said he was talking to his children on the phone and telling them goodnight when he was driving to the undercover location. He said that he is an Army veteran using his G.I. Bill for college.
- Feras Klisli, 49, of Davenport, FL - According to the PCSO, Klisli engaged in an online conversation on a social networking site and via cell phone with an undercover detective who was posing as a 14-year-old girl. He asked her if she was a virgin and described the sex acts he wanted to do to her. He told detectives that he is married with two adult children and that he is an Uber driver.
He was released from jail on September 24, 2023, after posting bond. - Douglas Da Silva, 46, of Windermere, FL - Da Silva engaged in an online conversation on a social networking site and via cell phone with an undercover detective who was posing as an adult who had access to a 15-year-old female child. He asked her if the girl was a virgin and told her he wanted to have sex with her twice within an hour. He agreed to pay her $250 to have unprotected sex with the child. He told detectives that he is an Uber Eats driver, is married, and that he and his wife own a house cleaning business. He said he has been in the U.S. for four years and is awaiting confirmation of his green card.
- Trevor Walker, 33, of Orlando, FL - Walker engaged in an online conversation on a social networking site and via cell phone with an undercover detective who was posing as an adult who had access to a 15-year-old female child. He said he wanted to “go hard” and agreed to pay her $400 to have unprotected sex with the child for three hours. He mentioned this being a “sting” with “Grady Judd” during their conversations. He told detectives that he works at Publix distribution in Orlando.
- Douglas Cooley, 26, of Apopka, FL - Cooley engaged in an online conversation on a social networking site and via cell phone with an undercover detective who was posing as an adult who had access to a 15-year-old female child. He agreed to pay her $100 to have protected sex with the child for half an hour, and an additional $50 for unprotected sex. He works at an after-school daycare in Apopka.
