The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has been busy the past nine days, arresting 255 people in two sting operations, Sheriff Grady Judd said.
The joint-agency undercover investigations that began May 2 targeted child predators, and prostitutes and their customers.
One suspect arrested in the prostitution sting was former NFL linebacker Adarius Taylor from Lakeland, who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2015-18.
“This is the highest number of suspects we’ve ever arrested during a single undercover operation,” Judd said during a news conference Friday.
The charges for the suspects included:
- Communicating with/Soliciting minors
- Soliciting prostitutes
- Offering Prostitution
- Aiding/abetting prostitutes
One operation targeted suspects who showed up to an undercover location in Polk County with intentions to sexually exploit children. Detectives were able to arrest 11 suspects totaling 50 felony charges.
The second operation led to the arrest of 244 suspects, 93 of which were prostitutes, on 102 felony charges.
The suspects had a combined total of 400 felonies and 519 misdemeanors such as premeditated murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery, battery, and sexual assault. During the operation, four human trafficking victims were found and offered services by investigators.
Judd said Taylor brought his 6-year-old child with him and left them in his car while visiting a prostitute. Judd says Child Protective Services immediately took the child into its care and released the child to their mother. “This guy here, obviously must have hit one too many people as a linebacker because his brain cells are scrambled,” Judd said.
Momma not gonna be happy.