Former firefighter, Amazon worker among men accused of online solicitation of sex from minors

2 years ago 259

Sheriff Mike Williams announced 26 arrests successful Operation Endgame

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams connected Tuesday announced the arrests of 26 men accused of online solicitation of enactment from minors.

At a quality conference, Williams said the suspects communicated with undercover officers, meetings were arranged and arrests were made betwixt June 23 to 27 arsenic portion of Operation Endgame.

All are facing second- and third-degree felonies and could look up to 25 years successful prison.

Most of the suspects are from the Jacksonville area, but 1 is from Kilgore, Texas, different is from Brunswick, and different 1 is from the Fort Myers area.

The suspects scope successful property from 21 to 59.

Arrests reports uncover that they held a assortment of jobs and included a erstwhile firefighter with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, a tyre store technician, and different radical employed by Amazon, Walmart and FedEx.

Officers posed arsenic minors online, successful immoderate cases arsenic a 14-year-old girl, and successful 1 lawsuit a 13-year-old boy, according to tribunal documents.

In 1 report, a fishy texted an undercover cause saying “age is conscionable a number.”

Some of the interactions starting connected dating websites, including the tract Plenty of Fish.

Investigators accidental the suspects arranged to conscionable with teens for sex, but erstwhile they got there, they were met with instrumentality enforcement.

Other agencies progressive see the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, Baker County Sheriff’s Office, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, FBI, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and authorities attorney’s office. Williams said these agencies volition proceed to enactment hard to halt predators.

“As instrumentality enforcement officers, there’s nary higher precedence than safeguarding the children of our community, truthful the men and pistillate of each of these agencies up present volition bash that with a relentless effort to region kid predators from our streets,” Williams said. “There’s nary shortage of suspects successful these cases. It’s a challenge, but evidently thing we proceed to absorption on.”

The sheriff said the crushed wherefore the announcement astir Operation Endgame is coming retired months aft the arrests is due to the fact that determination were spinoff investigations related to these cases and helium wanted to marque definite helium didn’t jeopardize immoderate different investigations related to online solicitation of enactment from minors.