Police in Florida have announced the arrests of 108 people during an undercover human trafficking operation, including several individuals who worked for the Walt Disney Company in varying capacities.
Per a regional report from WFLA, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests this week, noting that they were all part of a six-day investigation dubbed “Operation March Sadness 2.”
Police said that multiple Disney employees had been arrested amid the operation, including 27-year-old Xavier Jackson, who is said to have worked at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort as a lifeguard. The Kissimmee man is alleged to have communicated with an undercover detective who was posing as a 14-year-old girl. At one point, Jackson is alleged to have “sent sexual images and graphic descriptions of what he wanted to do.” He’s been charged with multiple counts of transmission of material harmful to a minor, as well as one count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
The three other Disney-linked individuals in question—i.e. Wilkason Fidele (said to be a four-year employee at the Cosmic Restaurant at Disney’s World’s Tomorrowland), Ralph Leese (described as an IT employee for Disney), and Shubham Malav (described as a software developer for the company)—are reported to be facing charges of soliciting a prostitute.
Per CBS News, a Disney rep has since confirmed that three of the four above-referenced arrestees (Leese, Fidele, and Jackson) have now been placed on unpaid leave. Malave, however, is currently—per the same Disney rep—“not an employee of the company.” Also among those taken in were a former Florida judge and a man who was employed at the Fun Spot amusement park in Orlando, the outlet reported.
In a statement shared alongside more detailed information on highlights from the operation-spurred arrests, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd pointed to the arrests of “a human trafficker and four child predators” among the 108 as having made the entire operation “worthwhile.”
Judd also elaborated on the larger operation during a press conference, at one point saying he’s “sure Disney’s not pleased” by the arrests of the employees.
“He’s married,” Judd said when highlighting Leese’s arrest. “So I’m sure Disney’s not pleased. I bet his wife’s not pleased. But we’re pleased that we arrested him.”
Complex has reached out to the Walt Disney Company for additional comment and will update this post accordingly.
