OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. - In an undercover operation, 16 people accused of being child predators were arrested in Central Florida.
All 16 people were taken into custody. However, Interim Sheriff Christopher Blackmon said, these 16 are not the last.
These arrests come after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two house bills - including Missy's Law - to protect children from predators.
Sixteen individuals were arrested in a joint Internet Crimes Against Children operation. The arrested individuals are accused of contacting minors, sending explicit messages and arriving at a designated location - all with the intent of having sex with a child, Blackmon said.
The joint investigation included the Osceola County Sheriff's office, St. Cloud Police Department, Kissimmee Police Department, Polk County Sheriff's office, Orlando Police Department, Orange County Sheriff's office and federal partners.
"We are watching what you are doing. There is nowhere to hide on the Internet," Blackmon said. "If you make a move to harm one of these children, we will track you down."
Blackmon promised: We won't stop until every predator is removed from society.
Blackmon encouraged parents to speak with their children and be vigilant about their children's safety.
Blackmon called Roblox a "predator's stomping ground to go hunt." The Attorney General's office previously sued the social media platform, Roblox, alleging that the company deceived parents about the safety of its platform while failing to protect children from accessing graphic adult content.
Of the people arrested, some worked as bus drivers, in a non-profit ministry group or as an AdventHealth nurse assistant. In response, Attorney General James Uthmeier simply said, "Don't leave your children alone with strangers that you don't know because you never know what could be happening."
Fifteen of the individuals arrested are accused of traveling to have sex with minors.
"Individuals who travel with the intent to exploit these children face an immediate threat to our communities," Rita Peters from the Office of Statewide Prosecution said. Peters said investigators are aiming to disrupt criminal conduct at the point of where their intent becomes action.
"Traveling to meet a child for sexual purposes will result in your arrest, your prosecution, our ultimate sentence," Peters said.
Prosecutors warn: online anonymity will no longer protect your criminal conduct.
"These 16 are not the last. I wish I could report to you that this is the end of the line, but it is not," he said.
The Osceola County Sheriff's Office recently doubled the size of its investigations unit and says they're making child exploitation a priority for that division. That work isn't done alone; however - OCSO is part of a Central Florida ICAC team involving 67 partner agencies in 17 counties. There are 375 prosecutors and investigators on the team in total, all working to combat child exploitation.
"This operation underscores the strength of these agencies working in unison toward the same mission," said Kim Montes with the Osceola County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.