In a massive Florida sting of child sex traffickers, predators and would-be predators that racked up a staggering 246 arrests, two of those arrested had previously been busted for the same crime earlier this year as part of “Operation Fool Around and Find Out.”
Gotcha again!
This latest operation was, accordingly, dubbed “Fool Around and Find Out Again” by Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
And that’s exactly what the two men who were re-arrested did.
“Protect your kids because you have no idea the depravity there, waiting to take advantage and hold of your children.”
“You know good and well that they’ve got two brain cells, OK?” Judd said. “And they used one on the first one and one on the second. They have zero brain cells left now.”
But there was nothing funny about the molesting monsters who ended up in handcuffs in the latest operation, which nailed those selling illicit sex, those trying to buy it and, worst of all, those trying to buy that sex with children—girls and boys, some as young as 12—only to discover they were actually messaging an undercover officer.
When they showed up for their “hot dates,” some carrying weapons, condoms or drugs, they were slapped in handcuffs.
In the week-long sting operation, a total of 99 were arrested for soliciting a prostitute and negotiating sex for money, while 20 more were taken into custody for aiding and abetting, transporting or deriving money from prostitution.
There were 371 total charges, but many of those charged were old hands at this game—already boasting 706 prior felony or misdemeanor charges collectively.
Some 46 of those arrested were undocumented immigrants from the Bahamas, Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, and now have immigration and customs holds against them.
So long, fellows—hope we don’t see you around again for a long, long time, if ever.
While communicating online with those they thought were children, many of the men sent nude photos of themselves, describing, in sickening detail, exactly what they intended to do to the kids.
“We arrested 16,” Sheriff Grady said. “They were sexual deviants that thought they were coming to a home to have sex with a child. And many times, wonky, crazy, nasty, vile, ugly sex.”
Fifteen firearms were confiscated and some 32 of those arrested were also charged with drug possession. The youngest was 18, but the oldest—certainly old enough to know better—was 67.
Notably, a total of 26 were married. (But considering that many of their names were published, that may not be true for long.)
One of those arrested was Trey Taunton of Minneola, Florida, a psychotherapist for Family Life Counseling who worked with young adults, and had been a swim coach and guidance counselor at Montverde Academy in Lake County. Taunton was sending explicit messages to an undercover officer he thought was a 15-year-old boy.
Yet another was Robert Vincent Hill III of Lake Placid, a sergeant with the Florida Department of Corrections. He thought he was emailing the father of a 13-year-old girl who had offered his daughter up for sex. Hill said he would pay $200 to give the girl “erotic massages.”
“Protect your kids because you have no idea the depravity there, waiting to take advantage and hold of your children—and to abuse them and turn their lives upside down,” Blaise Ingoglia, a Florida official, said. “These kids are being targeted by online sexual predators for the purposes of destroying their souls.”
“No one has the right to treat a human being like their property.”
The most hopeful outcome of the operation was that 12 suspected victims of trafficking were freed and provided support.
“Human traffickers are vile predators who exploit the vulnerable,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said. “Here in Florida, we will not give these traffickers the opportunity to destroy more lives.”
“Prostitution is not a victimless crime,” Judd said. “It results in human exploitation, misery, disease, dysfunction, drug and alcohol addiction, violence and broken families.”
In May, a similar operation netted 255 arrests. Some 141 were charged with soliciting prostitution, 93 with offering prostitution and 11 for child-related sex crimes.
Last year, a Hillsborough County sting nailed 148 suspects and recovered seven victims.
But neither operation made even a small dent in the overall child trafficking crisis in the Sunshine State.
A study from the University of South Florida revealed that over 500,000 people in Florida were exploited for labor trafficking and 200,000 for sex trafficking in 2024. An estimated half of those trafficked for sex and one-quarter of those involved in labor trafficking were minors.
Florida ranks third nationwide in sex trafficking, behind only Texas and California.
“It’s a huge problem all over the United States,” Sheriff Judd said. “No one has the right to treat a human being like their property.”
Worldwide, the human trafficking industry nets an estimated $150 billion annually, enslaving 49.6 million souls.
The forces of evil—the exploiters of innocent, helpless children—are a long, long way from being vanquished.
But they must be.
We cannot rest until they are.
