Disney and Sea World workers were arrested after an undercover police sting found a child sex operation.
Florida police arrested over 100 people as part of an undercover child pornography and prostitution investigation, and some of the suspects involved include former Magic Kingdom, SeaWorld and Universal Studios employees.
The Lake and Polk County Sheriff’s Offices worked with Mount Dora and Clermont police in a two-part sting operation beginning on May 18 and ending on May 28. Officials said detectives posed as underage girls or their parents in online chat rooms. They instructed the suspects to meet them at a specific location, where the suspects were arrested upon arrival. [THR]
One particular employee, Jeff Conrad, worked at Magic Kingdom. “He traveled to have sex with a 14-year-old child,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told local media at a news conference. “He had access to kids because, as he said, he was a Disney employee working at Magic Kingdom.” Several other employees involved in the child sex sting include Ryan Mayer and Tomas Adams. These two employees worked at SeaWorld and Universal Studios, although the theme parks told local news stations the men were no longer employed at the parks.
“We were recently informed that an employee who had worked for us for less than two weeks is included among those listed by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, but do not release personal information about our employees,” a SeaWorld representative tells The Hollywood Reporter. “The safety of our guests and team members and the well-being of our animals are our highest priority. We have numerous measures in place to create a safe environment in our parks.”
“These are dangerous folks,” Judd said. “Why do they work in these places? Because that’s where the children are. They like to be around children.”
Twenty-two people were arrested during the beginning of the sex sting and 79 were arrested during the second.
“Their communications and desires were outrageous and deviant,” Judd said. “All 22 traveled to have sex and brought outrageous tools for deviant sex.”
He added, “If you’re going to prey on children, the Florida sheriffs are going to come after you with a vengeance.”
Image Credit: Katherine Welles / Shutterstock.com
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