A former middle school assistant principal and two employees at Walt Disney World were among 17 people arrested on charges of possessing and sharing child pornography, Florida authorities said Friday.
At a news conference, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said "Guardians of Innocence; Fall Haul," was a monthlong operation conducted by undercover detectives from the Polk County Computer Crimes Unit, The Ledger of Lakeland reported.
“The people arrested during this operation prey on the most innocent and vulnerable among us — our children,” Judd said during a news conference Friday. “It is our intention for these people to never have access to our children."
Among those arrested was William Hage, 76, of Lakeland, who was an assistant principal at Seth McKeel Middle School before retiring 14 years ago.
Also arrested was Donald Durr Jr., of Davenport, who told detectives he was a custodial worker at Walt Disney World Resorts. According to investigators, Durr said he was "a pervert, but not a monster," according to a Sheriff's Office news release.
Busy morning today at the Polk County Sheriff's Office as we get ready to talk about two big special operations. We hope everyone has a great Friday! Although we can think of 31 men who probably won't. #Busted #PCSO pic.twitter.com/rQ3urwZ3jq
— Polk County Sheriff (@PolkCoSheriff) November 8, 2019
Brett Kinney, 40, of Lake Alfred, told detectives he was a guest experience manager at Walt Disney World, according to the news release. Kinney told detectives he had an addiction to child pornography and had been viewing it for 22 years, the release said.
Judd said during the news conference the ages of the men arrested ranged from 19 to 77, The Ledger reported. Sixteen of the men were from Polk County, and the other man was from Orlando, Judd said.
In October, 14 men were arrested in Operation Trick-or-Treat for failing to register as sex offenders, Judd said.
Judd said one man caught in the latest operation was trying to meet a child for sexual favors, and two men were pursuing nude pictures from two 13-year-olds using Snapchat and Facebook, The Ledger reported. Another man arrested told detectives that if he didn't look at child pornography, he would sexually batter children.
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