Polk Sting Nets 281 Arrests, Including 17 Theme Park Workers

A weeklong undercover operation in Polk County, Florida, ended with 281 arrests, including 31 people accused of trying to meet children for sex, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Grady Judd laid out the results of the operation, called “Polk Around and Find Out II,” at a press conference Friday morning in Winter Haven, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay.

The sheriff’s office said in its release that 17 of the suspects told detectives they work at local theme parks or resorts, including Disney World and Universal Studios, and that seven of those 17 were arrested as child sex predators. FOX 13 reported that 13 of the theme park workers were Disney employees and four worked for Universal Studios.

WATCH: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier says his office will pursue aggressive prosecutions against the child predators arrested in the massive undercover operation called "Polk Around and Find Out"@AGJamesUthmeier: "We will throw the book at every one of these. We will… pic.twitter.com/683pFg23zG

— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) October 30, 2026

According to the sheriff’s office, 239 of the arrests were tied to soliciting prostitutes, offering to commit prostitution, or aiding, abetting or transporting prostitutes, and 11 more arrests were for other offenses. The suspects face a combined 198 felony and 290 misdemeanor charges, the release said, and their prior records add up to 358 felonies and 440 misdemeanors.

The sheriff’s office said 31 suspects communicated online with people they believed were children, or the guardians of children, and that two of the accused predators were also charged with human trafficking, according to FOX 13. A children’s football and cheerleading coach was among those arrested, Judd said in the release, and FOX 13 reported that an active-duty Navy sailor was also taken into custody.

One of the people arrested for soliciting a prostitute is an Orange County deputy sheriff who works as a school resource deputy at an elementary school, according to the sheriff’s office. He was charged with a single misdemeanor count of solicitation, the release said.

“This is why it’s critically important that parents continually monitor not only their children’s online activities, but also to know who the adults are in your children’s lives,” Judd said in the sheriff’s office release. “Keeping children safe is our number one priority.”

The operation also turned up 32 people in the country illegally, from nine different countries, according to the sheriff’s office. The release said 22 of the suspects collect public assistance totaling $8,373 a month, or $100,476 a year.

Detectives and social service groups, including One More Child and the Florida Department of Children and Families, screened the 122 people accused of traveling to commit prostitution to see whether they were being trafficked or exploited, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators identified 11 human trafficking victims, and all of those screened were offered services, according to the release.

The sheriff’s office said the operation drew investigators from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, the Florida Department of Financial Services, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division and more than a dozen local police and sheriff’s departments. Uthmeier told reporters at the press conference that his office would pursue tough prosecutions of the accused child predators, according to video posted by Florida’s Voice.

Everyone arrested is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court, and authorities had not released formal court dates for those arrested as of Friday morning, according to FOX 13.

Reporting by Daily Beltway.