Multi-agency “Fool Around and Find Out – Again” operation targets a range of illicit activities, identifies human trafficking victims, and leads to arrests of undocumented individuals.
POLK COUNTY, Fla. – In a seven-day undercover operation from September 8 to September 14, 2025, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested 230 suspects in a crackdown on human trafficking and related crimes.
The operation, which focused on illegal activities such as soliciting prostitutes, offering to commit prostitution, and aiding or transporting prostitutes, also targeted child sexual predators, resulting in 16 additional arrests of individuals who sought to exploit minors.
Operation Breakdown: Charges and Suspect Profiles
The operation yielded 99 arrests for soliciting prostitutes and traveling to an undercover location to negotiate sex for money, with 20 additional suspects charged with aiding, abetting, transporting, or deriving proceeds from prostitution. Detectives filed a total of 89 felony charges and 282 misdemeanor charges, totaling 371 charges. The suspects’ prior criminal histories revealed a combined 706 charges, including 317 felonies and 389 misdemeanors.
“The online prostitution industry enables and empowers human traffickers, allowing them to profit off the people they exploit. Our goal is to identify victims, offer them help, and arrest those who are fueling the exploitation of human beings and those profiting from it,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. “Prostitution is not a victimless crime—it results in human exploitation, misery, disease, dysfunction, drug and alcohol addiction, violence, and broken families.”
Notable details from the operation include:
- 46 suspects were in the U.S. illegally, hailing from countries such as the Bahamas, Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.
- 182 suspects were from outside Polk County, including visitors from 11 states and Puerto Rico.
- 26 suspects were married, and 5 reported receiving government assistance.
- Ages ranged from 18 to 67 years old.
- 15 firearms were seized, one of which was stolen.
- 32 suspects faced narcotics possession charges.
- 16 suspects had prior prostitution-related charges from previous Polk County Sheriff’s Office operations.
Attorney General James Uthmeier condemned the perpetrators, stating, “Human traffickers are vile predators who exploit the vulnerable, and once again, a disproportionate number of those arrested in this sting were illegal aliens. Here in Florida, we will not give these traffickers the opportunity to destroy more lives.”
Child Predator Investigation: 16 Arrested
Running concurrently, a joint-agency investigation targeted individuals preying on children. Fifteen men were arrested for multiple felonies after communicating with undercover detectives posing as minors or guardians of minors.
A 16th suspect, Robert Hill of Lake Placid, was arrested on September 18, 2025, in Highlands County after detectives obtained a warrant for soliciting sex with a child. Three of the 14 suspects who arrived at the undercover location were charged with human trafficking for offering to pay for sex with a child.
The child predator investigation involved collaboration with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, Bloomington (MN) Police, Auburndale Police, Davenport Police, Lake City Police, Pinellas Park Police, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and a Homeland Security Investigations task force.
“It is extremely disturbing when we encounter nasty child predators like these who are very eager to have sex with children. This is why we conduct these types of undercover operations,” said Judd. “Keeping children safe is our number one priority, and we appreciate our partnering agencies, without whom we would not be as successful in apprehending these dangerous offenders.”
Among the arrested were individuals with alarming backgrounds:
- Alberto Gonzalez Torres, 48, of Saint Cloud, FL, sent explicit messages and nude photos to an undercover detective posing as a 15-year-old boy. He faces charges including traveling to meet a minor and attempted lewd/lascivious battery.
- Louie Macalinao, 62, of Davenport, FL, a CEO of an assisted living facility, messaged a detective posing as a 15-year-old boy and resisted arrest. He faces charges such as traveling to meet a minor and resisting arrest.
- Trey Taunton, 40, of Minneola, FL, a psychotherapist and former swim coach, misrepresented his age while soliciting a detective posing as a 15-year-old boy. He faces charges including misrepresenting age and attempted lewd/lascivious conduct.
- Robert Hill, 56, of Lake Placid, FL, a Florida Department of Corrections Sergeant, offered $200 for erotic massages with a child. He was arrested on a warrant for soliciting a guardian.
A warrant remains active for Kyle Mullen, 36, of Jacksonville, FL, charged with transmission of material harmful to a minor and use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony.
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