Jacksonville sheriff announces 27 arrests in multi-agency sting targeting child exploitation
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced Monday the arrest of 27 individuals between the ages of 19-69 accused of using the internet to sexually exploit children following an undercover multi-agency operation.
As a part of a five-day undercover investigation called “Operation Valiant Knights,” the sheriff’s office, along with local, state, and federal partners with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, successfully identified and arrested 27 men who allegedly solicited sexual contact from people who they believed to be children.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said Monday that undercover detectives posed as children and chatted online with the suspects who he said “solicited sexual activity and committed to engaging in sex acts with purported minors at pre-arranged locations.”
The 27 men arrested range from 19-69 years old. Waters said the suspects were arrested for a combination of serious felonies including coercing sexual activity for human trafficking, which is a first degree felony.
The objective of the operation was to identify and arrest suspects who solicit children to engage in sexual acts using electronic devices, according to Waters. The operation was from April 24-28.
Upon arriving at the pre-arranged locations, the suspects were immediately arrested.
Waters highlighted some of those arrested including:
- 57-year-old Kevin Pearce, a maintenance worker at Duval County Public Schools. He allegedly traveled to a pre-arranged location with the intent of engaging in sexual conduct with a 13-year-old child and even sent a nude photo of himself to detectives, who he thought was the child.
- 33-year-old Chad Sadlowski, a respiratory therapist. He allegedly traveled with the intent of engaging in sexual activity with an 8-year-old child.
- 33-year-old Austin Maddox, a former Red Sox MLB player. He allegedly traveled with the intent of engaging in sexual activity with a 14-year-old child and resisted arrest until a police K-9 got involved.
- 29-year-old Malcomn McGee, employed by the Army National Guard as a sergeant. He allegedly traveled with the intent of engaging in sexual activity with a 14-year-old child.
According to the sheriff’s office, one suspect arrived armed with a hand gun as well as illegal drugs, identified at MDMA.
“As the internet provides new and frightening opportunities for predators to victimize our children, our investigators, along with those of our partner agencies will continue to proactively identify and apprehend child predators before they have the opportunity to act upon their perversions,” Waters said.
Waters’ message to the parents during his announcement is to “pay very close attention.”
“It’s very important for us to set as many protections on our computers and to pay attention to what our kids are doing,” Waters said. “If you don’t, sometimes these kinds of things happen and we do not want our kids being victims of these predators.”
During the multi-agency operation, the sheriff’s office worked with investigators and agents from the following:
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Homeland Security Investigations
- INTERCEPT Task Force
- Naval Criminal Investigative Services
- Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook
- St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick
- Bay County Sheriff’s Office
- U.S. Marshals Service
- Florida Department of Law Enforcement
- State Attorney’s Office
- U.S. Attorney’s Office
