Florida Cops Arrest 40 for Trying to Have Sex with Teens but Don’t Mention Several of those Arrested Were Teens, Too

OK, so this is a tough to write. After recently publishing a post about cops who were having sex with minors and asking readers to check out an excellent article by the Houston Press about the ugly history of cops abusing their power to have sex with minors through a mentor program, we came across this story about a police sting that arrested 40 adult men who allegedly sought sex with a minor via the internet. While catching grown men attempting to have sex with a minor is undoubtedly a great thing, the details of the sting sounded a but funny – most men were lured by a detective posing as either an of legal age parent or sister who “agreed” she would have sex with the guy and allow the supposed sister or daughter minor to participate…but what if some of the men arrested could have been victims themselves if they were born a few months earlier.

The sting as reported was questionable. Basically, it  sounded strange to me because it’s “luring” somebody (“Lure” a Parent Guardian or Custodian to Consent to Commit Sex Acts with a Child is the actual legal name of the crime that the men are accused of) to commit an illegal act by getting them to commit a legal act first. I’m no lawyer, but that sounds like entrapment times two. But this is kids we’re talking about, so getting the bad guys first is completely understandable, right?

BUT…

According to several news reports, “Operation Red Cheeks,” carried out by the Osceola Police Department in Florida over a mere on week span used women posing as ages 19-30 to lure in suspects. In at least one case, a policewoman posing as a 19-year-old promised to have suspect and bring her 14-year-old into the mix. In at least one other, a policewoman posing as a 30-year-old promised to have sex with a suspect and bring her 13-year-old daughter into the mix.

So far, no big problem…especially if you have the image of a perverted middle-aged man preying on innocent kids on your mind, that first legal act is easy to dismiss when such a disgusting illegal act is intended, as well.

However, 12 of the 40 arrested were under the age of 25 (several more are in their late 20’s). Two of sub-25 arrests were 18-years-old, one of them still in high school. A few of them are in college. All 12 of the 25-or-under group was charged with several counts, including the above mentioned “luring” charge as well as the duplicitous charge of  “use of computer to seduce/solicit/entice a parent, legal guardian or custodian of child to commit sex acts on the child.”

Without knowing the complete details of the communication between the men arrested and the police in the sting, it is impossible to determine the intent of the accused. However, I’m a bit concerned with the youngsters being so publicly included in the sting. Basically, you have two 18-year-olds who, if born a few months earlier, could conceivably have been the “victims” in this sting since detectives posing as 30-year-olds were enticing them to have sex with them and their underage counterpart.

But that wasn’t mentioned in any of the news reports. Instead, all were put under the same umbrella as 55-year-old pro golfers.

“These predators stalk the cyber community looking for children to victimize. This operation resulted in 40 arrests which means at a minimum, 40 children did not fall prey to a sexual deviant,” said Osceola County Sheriff Bob Hansel, in a press release.

That might be true. And this operation might be a tremendously great thing that prevented a lot of pain. But is it possible that it could also have capitalized off a few dumb, horny kids who thought they were getting in some kind of MILF fantasy (at least one sting advertised a 30-year-old) and cause them tremendous difficulty for the rest of their lives by making them criminal sex offenders because they were trying to hook up with a milf and, in the case of the 18-year-olds, a girl at most 5 years younger?

Again, this is without knowing the details of the communication nor the advertised “bait.” However, those were the details given by police – and if they were more explicit, it is likely the cops would have given that info to the press.

What if we have several instances of 18, 20, and 22-year-olds promised sex with a 30-year-old and her 16 or 17-year-old daughter? While that is certainly illegal, the young men in question do not exactly fit the definition of “child sex predators,” which is basically how they are currently being defined.

Of the 12 under-25 men arrested in this “child sex sting, 11 of them are not even technically guilty of statutory rape, much less child rape or molestation because they are under the age of 24 and there was no force involved, according to Florida law:

794.05 Unlawful sexual activity with certain minors.—

(1) A person 24 years of age or older who engages in sexual activity with a person 16 or 17 years of age commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. As used in this section, “sexual activity” means oral, anal, or vaginal penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another; however, sexual activity does not include an act done for a bona fide medical purpose.

Nonetheless, 12 of the men arrested have been included in an “internet child sex sting” – just about one of the most feared things any parent could ever imagine their child ending up in. However, the bait in this sting does not necessarily fit the image people get when they hear things like that and 12 of the men arrested were possibly – and this is just a guess…but being aware of the popularity of “milfs,” maybe just maybe they were interested in the mom and not the daughter, Just throwing out that possibility.

Again, I strongly believe that adults who prey on children is one of the most disgusting acts one can commit. But in this particular story, I worry that a lot of young names are being dragged through the mud because a few cops wanted better press, some departmental honors,  and maybe a few more dollars for “investigations.” Furthermore, I am pissed off that the media, including the Huffington Post (which produced an entire video that propagated the police press release under the guise of “journalism”), did not point out the details of the sting and the ages of the men arrested. Instead, they republished the cops’ press release in their “own words” and possibly helped ruin some young  lives in the process.

If they all were about to commit heinous crimes, they deserve to be punished. But “innocent until proven guilty” doesn’t amount to much when the media republishes police press releases, publishes arrested people’s names and photos, and keeps those articles on their website forever.

Anyways, here is the under-25 group:

Frederick David Adams, 18, 721 Crossfield Circle, Naples. Charges: travel to seduce child to commit sex acts; use of computer to seduce/solicit/entice a parent, legal guardian or custodian of child to commit sex acts on the child; attempted lewd and lascivious battery on a child; travel to seduce, solicit, lure a parent guardian or custodian to consent to commit sex acts with a child; use of a computer to solicit child for sex; possession of alcohol by a minor. Occupation: high school student.

Lucas Bartholomew Clarke, 18, 2004 New Stonecastle Terrace, Winter Park. Charges: travel to seduce child to commit sex acts; use of computer to seduce/solicit/entice a parent, legal guardian or custodian of child to commit sex acts on the child; attempted lewd and lascivious battery on a child; travel to seduce, solicit, lure a parent, guardian or custodian to consent to commit sex acts with a child; resisting arrest without violence; possession of cannabis under 20 grams. Occupation: student, Golf Academy of America.

Craig Alan Parsel, Jr., 25, 100 10th Avenue, Fairbanks, Alaska. Charges: use of computer to seduce/solicit/entice a parent, legal guardian or custodian of child to commit sex acts on the child; attempted lewd and lascivious battery on a child; travel to seduce, solicit, lure a parent, guardian or custodian to consent to commit sex acts with a child. Occupation: warehouse clerk.

Christopher Stewart, 22, 2717 Green Meadow Circle, Kissimmee. Charges: travel to seduce child to commit sex acts; use of computer to seduce/solicit/entice a parent, legal guardian or custodian of child to commit sex acts on the child; use of a computer to solicit child for sex; transmit harmful images to minor. Occupation: truck loader.

Jason Bacchus, 25, 13266 Harbor Shore Lane, Winter Garden. Charges: use of computer to seduce/solicit/entice a parent, legal guardian or custodian of child to commit sex acts on the child; attempted lewd & lascivious battery on a child; use of a computer to solicit child for sex. Occupation: sales representative, cell phone distributor.

Marvin Alfonson Bell, 20, 4034 Eastridge Drive, Valrico. Charges: travel to seduce child to commit sex acts; use of computer to seduce/solicit/entice a parent, legal guardian or custodian of child to commit sex acts on the child; attempted lewd and lascivious battery on a child. Occupation: college student.

Sergio Cardenas, 23, 2566 K Ville Ave., Auburndale. Charges: travel to seduce child to commit sex Acts; use of computer to seduce/solicit/entice a parent, legal guardian or custodian of child to commit sex acts on the child; attempted lewd and lascivious battery on a child; use of a computer to solicit child for sex. Occupation: unemployed.

Josean Javier Gaston, 21, 4908 Waterside Pointe Circle, Orlando. Charges: travel to seduce child to commit sex acts; use of computer to seduce/solicit/entice a parent, legal guardian or custodian of child to commit sex acts on the child; attempted lewd and lascivious battery on a child; travel to seduce, solicit, lure a parent guardian or custodian to consent to commit sex acts with a child; use of a computer to solicit child for sex. Occupation: student.

Ahmidullah Popal, 20, 7387 Park Drive West, Flushing, N.Y. Charges: use of computer to seduce/solicit/entice a parent, legal guardian or custodian of child to commit sex acts on the child; attempted lewd and lascivious battery on a child; travel to seduce, solicit, lure a parent, guardian or custodian to consent to commit sex acts with a child; possession of cannabis less than 20 grams; possession of drug paraphernalia. Occupation: wholesale dealer.

Kegan Ritchie, 22, 213 London Place, Port Orange. Charges: travel to seduce child to commit sex acts; use of computer to seduce/solicit/entice a parent, legal guardian or custodian of child to commit sex acts on the child; attempted lewd and lascivious battery on a child. Occupation: student.

Andrew Louis Skinner, 21, 8800 Buena Vista Place, Windermere. Charges: use of computer to seduce/solicit/entice a parent, legal guardian or custodian of child to commit sex acts on the child; attempted lewd and lascivious battery on a child; travel to seduce, solicit, lure a parent, guardian or custodian to consent to commit sex acts with a child. Occupation: vendor.

Winston Alexander Stephens, 20, 9727 Nightingale Road, Shreveport, La. Charges: use of computer to seduce/solicit/entice a parent, legal guardian or custodian of child to commit sex acts on the child; attempted lewd and lascivious battery on a child; travel to seduce, solicit, lure a parent. guardian or custodian to consent to commit sex acts with a child. Occupation: student, Full Sail University.

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