Or alleged child predators, to be accurate.
But that's what our society has come to, and while this is bad enough, just know that things are going to get a lot worse before the total societal collapse, which is coming.
Seventeen people from across central Florida have been charged in “Operation Child Protector,” a six-day undercover investigation into child predators held by multiple agencies.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, 16 suspects are from around Clewiston, Davenport, Kissimmee, Orlando, Polk City, and Zephyrhills. One was a visitor to the area from Los Angeles.
Among these suspects were several employees at Disney World.
Sheriff Grady Judd told reporters that every one of the suspects were intent on engaging in sexual activity with who they thought were kids but instead were busted by 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,” Judd told reporters, hinting at the disgusting, sordid nature of the alleged crimes. “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.
One couple caught up in the sting, Jonathan and Savannah McGrew, allegedly sought to engage in a threesome with a 13-year-old girl and then do some roleplaying as step parents and stepdaughter as part of a shoplifting scenario.
Both of them worked in proximity of kids -- as custodians at Walt Disney Hollywood Studios.
“Are you kidding me? That’s how you’re talking to 13-year-old children,” Judd said.
Another suspect named Kenneth Javier Aquino was employed as a lifeguard at Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge. Judd said he left his pregnant girlfriend to go have what he thought was going to be sex with a minor. The sheriff noted that he was dressed in his work clothes when he came to meet his suspected underage sex date.
“He’s a Navy veteran,” the sheriff said. “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.”
The sheriff went on to note that another suspect is HIV-positive and that it was his intention to have unprotected sex with an underage girl, though he did not say which suspect has the disease.
“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, he said.
In all, the suspects are facing 48 felony charges along with two misdemeanors; nine of the suspects already have criminal histories.
Mind you, we're not keen on set-up law enforcement operations. The FBI, for instance, entraps far too many alleged 'terrorist' suspects.
But you're a special kind of sick when you a) plot to have sex with a minor, especially one who's barely entered puberty; and b) actually show up to do the deed.
Plus, officers tend to know where these meet-and-greet forums are, so they are able to weed out the sickos and lure them into the open so they can be arrested, which is a good thing since, after all, we're talking about protecting children.
It's just a sign of our sick, twisted, morally bankrupt culture that some suspects work for what was once an icon of traditionalism and family entertainment.
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