Florida sting operation leads to the arrest of 12 men in connection with alleged sexual activity with minors
Florida authorities have arrested 12 suspects who attempted to engage in sexual activity with minors as part of an undercover operation targeting predators.
The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office says ‘Operation Lucky Strike’, a tactical internet undercover crime against children, was launched to arrest dangerous cyber predators who attempt to have sex with children .
During the operation, law enforcement officials posed as minors on various websites while waiting to be approached through online messages. The suspects, although aware of the child’s age, still chose to send sexually explicit photos, messages and detailed requests for various sexual activities they wanted to engage in with the child.
Some of the suspects had driven for more than an hour expecting to meet a minor to engage in sexual activity. But when they arrived, they were apprehended by law enforcement.
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Florida authorities have arrested 12 suspects who attempted to engage in sexual activity with minors. (Citrus County Sheriff’s Office)
The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office worked with the United States Secret Service, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff’s Office of Sumter County and the Tavares Police Department to arrest the suspects.
“These heinous and sick individuals prey on children for their own evil benefit,” Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast said in a statement. “These individuals knowingly send despicable and sexually explicit messages to minors online, and even travel hours to meet a child with the intent of committing these disgusting acts or worse.”
“Attacking children is absolutely despicable,” he continued. “I am incredibly proud of the extraordinary partnership between our agency and law enforcement that has helped us bring these monsters to justice and remove them from our streets. If operations like ‘Lucky Strike’ remove a single predator from the streets , it’s a success. We’ve arrested 12 immoral criminals this time around, so we consider ‘Lucky Strike’ a huge success.”
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Law enforcement officials posed as minors on different websites while waiting to be approached through online messages. (Citrus County Sheriff’s Office)
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Cristian Gabriel Rosado-Marrero, Devin Michael Cordeiro, Franklin Lezama, Jeff D. Adams, Sean Robert Mooney, Robert Allan Rankin, Mathew Leathers, Glenn Cunningham, James Patrick Lake, Mark Philip Werner Lovric, Alex Anthony Francis and Ralph Joseph Perkins have been taken into custody as part of the operation.
Officials said 11 suspects were arrested for attempting to have sex with minors and Rankin was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia as Mooney’s accomplice in driving him instead of the meeting.
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