As part of a sting on suspected child predators in Florida this week, 17 people were arrested, including several Disney World employees.
As WFLA reported, 16 of the arrested suspects are from Florida, while the final suspect was visiting from Los Angeles. Police have stated that all of those arrested had actively planned to engage in sexual activity with who they believed were minors. When the suspects got to places where they had arranged to meet with children, they were instead met with undercover police officers who posed as children online.
“These are nasty, nasty, nasty people, and when we go through this, understand that obviously, we can’t even use the words they used,” said Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County, Florida. “We obviously can’t show you the pictures and the video clips that they sent to what they thought were 13-year-old little girls and little boys.”
Savannah and Joanthan McGrew were among the arrested, and had allegedly stated their desire to have a threesome with a 13-year-old girl as part of stepdaughter roleplay, police said. “[Jonathan] said to the child, ‘We want to enjoy this opportunity, we don’t want to rush. Even at the conclusion maybe we can cuddle a little bit,’” added Judd. “Are you kidding me? That’s how you’re talking to 13-year-old children?”
Both of these suspects were employees at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the time of their arrest.
Kenneth Javier Aquino, an employee at Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge, was also one of the individuals arrested. He allegedly left his pregnant girlfriend to pursue underage sex.
“He left his girlfriend, who is seven months pregnant with his child, to have sex with a child. He’s a Navy veteran,” said Judd. “That’s right. He was working toward a dive team or a SEAL team or some kind of special ops job. They did a background check on him and found he had friends or affiliates that were gang members, and they tossed him.”
Another one of the 17 suspects, who range from 26 to 47, was allegedly HIV-positive and fully intended to have unprotected sex with an underage girl. “Fortunately, our detectives were there instead of the 13-year-old child, but guess what? Had it been a curious little girl as opposed to our very experienced detectives, she would have been directly exposed to HIV," said Judd.
The 17 suspects are facing a total of 48 felony charges and two misdemeanors. Kenneth Javider Aquino, who arrived at the agreed upon location still in his Disney World work clothes, was charged with one count of traveling to meet a minor for sex, one count of attempted lewd battery, and one count transimission of material harmful to a minor. Most of the suspects are facing similar felony charges.
