POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — More than 100 people were arrested in Florida during Operation March Sadness 2, a six-day undercover investigation that focused on human trafficking, prostitution, and child predators.
While most of the arrests involved people accused of human trafficking or soliciting prostitution, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office also made four arrests for alleged crimes against children.
“This is huge,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. “Four arrests of this magnitude is simply remarkable.”
According to the sheriff’s office, there were also four Disney employees among the 108 arrests, including a man who worked as a lifeguard at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.
Xavier Jackson, 27, who worked as a lifeguard at the resort, is accused of sending sexual images and graphic descriptions of “what he wanted to do” to an undercover detective posing as a 14-year-old girl, according to police. Deputies said Jackson also bragged about working as a lifeguard at the resort.
Three other Disney employees were arrested during the operation. Their alleged crimes did not involve minors.
One of the accused is a 24-year-old Orlando man who worked at the Cosmic Restaurant in Walt Disney World’s Tomorrowland. Deputies said the man had worked at Disney for four years.
A software developer for Disney and someone who works in IT for the company were also arrested.
Judd also added 66-year-old Daniel Peters, of Illinois, to the list of arrests mentioned during a Wednesday morning news conference. Peters served as a judge in Cook County and as a special assistant for legal affairs at the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois, Judd said.
Deputies said Peters requested an attorney, to which Sheriff Judd replied, “Well judge, you need an attorney. You got problems.”
Peters was charged with soliciting a prostitute.
Polk County detectives said they identified suspected sex workers who posted online advertisements as well as “johns” who sought them online. The operation “had the intent to identify and free any victims who were being forced into prostitution (human trafficking), or anyone participating in the trafficking of victims,” according to the sheriff’s office.