WINTER HAVEN -- Polk Sheriff Grady Judd says eight men have been arrested in his office's latest crackdown on child pornography and exploitation of minors.
Judd says a Disney employee, a self-employed boudoir photographer, and employees of major retail chains are facing a total of more than 1,200 felony charges in "Operation May's Monsters."
The photographer is identified as 58-year-old Stefan Young of Lakeland. Judd says undercover detectives answered an ad by Young on Craigslist, asking for a mother and two young daughters. The detectives claim Young told them he had taken pictures of children as young as 13, with their parents' permission. He allegedly asked the detectives not to tell Sheriff Judd. "If Grady Judd finds out we're in trouble." Young faces three charges and Judd warns that parents could face charges if they allowed the pictures to be taken.
Another suspect, 40-year-old Paul Viel of Davenport, worked at the Cosmic Rays Restaurant at Disney World. He faces more than 500 child pornography charges. His wife asked deputies if she had married a "monster." Judd said yes, she did.
33-year-old Shayne Osborne of Polk City, employed at a Best Buy warehouse, allegedly told deputies it was a "mistake" when he was arrested, as he was looking for bestiality photos.
Several of the suspects were married and at least one had small children at home. Judd says none of those children are depicted and so far none of the images have been tied to Polk County.
According to the sheriff, the images are "some of the most horrific" his detectives have ever seen. Judd says uploading sexually explicit images of children feeds an exploitation pipeline and victimizes children over and over. He says it's a reminder that parents need to be "up in their children's business" on cell phones, other connected devices, and social media.
All eight suspects are shown in a photo below.
Photo: Canva