Polk County News
Three Walt Disney World employees in Orlando were along with 17 suspects arrested in a massive child sex sting in Florida.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests as part of ‘Operation Child Protector’ at a news conference on Tuesday.
Collectively, the group was charged with 49 felony counts and two misdemeanors, including: traveling to meet a minor for sex, attempted felony battery, using a computer to seduce a child, and transmission of material harmful to a child.
Officials said most of the suspects had communicated with undercover agents, posing as 13- and 14-year-olds, and then traveled to a location with the intention of meeting and sexually assaulting victims.
Six suspects had brought condoms for the meet-ups. The two suspects did not actually visit, but sent obscene messages, pictures, and videos online to underage people.
Three suspects – Kenneth Javier Aquino, Jonathan McGrew, and Sarah Lawrence – stood out among the group because they are each employed by Disney.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told a news conference that Animal Kingdom Lodge lifeguard Aquino, 26, was wearing his Disney polo shirt, swim trunk, and alligator when he was arrested by undercover detectives on July 27.
Judd said that Aquino went straight to meet the girl from work that day after starting a conversation with who he thought a 14-year-old girl, asking for nude photos and sending pornographic videos of herself, Judd said.
‘He used to brag about his skills and how amazing he was,’ said Aquino’s Judd, who was the first to be arrested in the week-long sting. ‘He left his girlfriend, who was seven months pregnant with his child, to have sex with a child.’
McGrew, 34, and girlfriend Lawrence, 29, both of Kissimmee and both patrons at Disney’s Hollywood Studios allegedly tried to arrange a threesome with a secret spy posing as a 14-year-old girl on August 1.
Police said McGrew contacted two undercover detectives posing as underage girls within the same time frame, inviting one to his apartment and sending videos of him and Lawrence’s sexual acts.
McGrew wrote in a message, ‘Our fantasy is to play stepfather/stepdaughter/stepmother, teacher/student maybe even shoplifter where we do the strip search.
Lawrence told police she was “just a follower,” Judd said. The two took an Uber to the detective’s location, attempted to meet a minor for sex, and were arrested on the scene without incident.
McGrew reportedly wrote to the detective, ‘We want to enjoy the opportunity, we don’t want to rush. ‘Maybe at the conclusion, we’ll cuddle a little.’
According to PIX, at least 35 Disney employees were arrested for pedophilia-related charges between 2006 and 2014.
According to Newsweek, a chef and food runner at Disney facilities was caught in a child sex ring in 2018, and Metro reported that two more Disney employees were pegged for their involvement in a 2019 child porn sting, Metro reported.
Judd told reporters that one of those arrested, who could not be excluded because of HIPAA laws, admitted to officers after his arrest that he was HIV positive. He was not among those arrested with a condom on his person.
Orlando’s Domino’s Pizza driver Lior Enbar, 31, married LA-resident Jarrod Justice, 33, and Irving Oliver, 41, of Lackland, were all charged within the same day on July 27 for the crime of traveling to meeting a minor for sex and attempted lewd battery.
Justice reportedly brought condoms and Sour Patch Kids to the scene. Enbar allegedly dialed *67 to call the 14-year-old ‘girl’ he was related to, asking for photos and videos and detailing what he wanted to do sexually.
Prior to this, Oliver was arrested for battery domestic violence, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and violating a restraining order.
Detectives said they found the PCP in the wallet of 30-year-old Joshua Ortega of Davenport when he was in prison, traveling to visit a minor for sex, and his charges of the attempted indecent battery included two additional offenses.
He was released from state prison in June last year after being jailed for possession of cocaine, marijuana-related charges, theft, grand theft, and probation violations.
Ortega told detectives that he was unemployed, lived with his mother, and went to the place to have sex with a 14-year-old because he ‘hadn’t had sex in a while.’
Davenport’s registered nurse Juan Guadalupe-Arroyo, 47, was arrested after arriving at the detective’s location to meet with a 14-year-old boy for sex on July 30, police said.
He explained in detail what he wanted to do in conversation with the detectives and brought the condom to the scene. In addition to allegations related to the sex attempt, Guadalupe-Arroyo was also accused of misrepresenting his age online – telling the boy he was only 40 years old.
Carlos Flores, 36, of Orlando, was also charged for lying about his age on July 30 after he told a detective posing as a 13-year-old girl that he was 17.
Judd said, ‘He didn’t want to come inside the building, he wanted the girl to meet him in his car—it was his fantasy, having sex in the car.’
That day, Enrique Medina of Orlando, 47, and Adam Smith of Kissimmee, 30, were also charged with traveling felonies and attempted lewd battery to meet a minor.
Judd said custodian Thomas Snyder of Lakeland, 44, was at work while he sent a candid photo of himself from his job site with detectives posing as a 13-year-old boy on July 31.
‘He said “I like stinky feet” – he wanted to smell the little boy’s feet, and then he wanted to play with his toes,’ said Judd. ‘He talked really, really dirty during the secret conversation.’
Garbage truck drivers Jeremiah Davis, 27, of Clewiston, David Ring of Lakeland, 34, and Philip Nelson, 27, of Polk City, were all charged with felony counts on July 31, the day when they were communicating and traveling to those they thought they were 14 year old girls.
Julio Enrique Cedeno Jr., 45, of Zephyrhills, and self-identified professional poker player, Edward McGaffigan, 37, of Orlando, were both charged with the transmission of harmful material to a minor and the unlawful use of a two-way communication device for sending obscene photos. was alleged. themselves to 13- and 14-year-old ‘girls’ and requesting for the same in return.
‘He sent harmful material, he thought it was a 14 year old girl. When we went to pick him up, we actually showed him the chats. You know what he said? “Well, that’s really bad.” No kidding,’ said McGaffigan’s Judd. ‘He couldn’t travel – someone stole his car, so he just talked dirty and sent harmful material.’
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office was assisted in the undercover sting by the Auburndale Police Department, the Orlando Police Department, the Winter Haven Police Department, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Judd said in the press conference, ‘Our detectives working in this operation are excellent. ‘He is adept at talking like a 13- and 14-year-old and worked round the clock for a week to arrest 17 people.’
Stay tuned for more updates and Polk County News.
