On Monday, November 4, 2019, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office concluded a month-long special operation to identify members of the community who possessed and shared child pornography. The operation, called “Guardians of Innocence IV: Fall Haul,” was carried out by undercover detectives from PCSO’s Computer Crimes Unit, and resulted in the arrests of 17 people (16 of whom live in Polk county).

During the operation, one man was caught as he was attempting to meet a Frostproof child for sexual favors, two men were pursuing nude pictures from two different 13-year-old girls using Snapchat and Facebook, and another who admitted that if he didn’t look at child pornography, he would sexually batter children.

“The people arrested during this operation prey on the most innocent and vulnerable among us---our children. The undercover detectives who investigate these crimes have to see things that nobody should have to see, and no child should have to experience. Each one of these arrests has removed a predator from our streets, and the internet.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff

The youngest person arrested was 19-years-old, while the oldest was 77-years-old.

At the time of arrest, detectives seized all known electronic communications devices belonging to the suspects, with forensic searches of those devices to follow. Those searches could turn up additional images and/or videos depicting child pornography, and the suspects would be additionally charged as needed. Attempts are also made to identify the children in various images and videos.

The 17 men arrested face a total of 626 charges (624 felonies, 2 misdemeanors). The combined prior criminal histories of all of the men includes 114 felonies and 71 misdemeanors. One of the men is receiving government assistance.

Those arrested are as follows - https://www.polksheriff.org/news-investigations/polk-county-news/2019/11/08/polk-county-sheriff-s-office-computer-crimes-unit-arrests-17-during-operation-guardians-of-innocence-iv-fall-haul