WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd revealed the details Thursday of a recent child pornography investigation that led to eight arrests, including a Disney employee and a boudoir photographer.
During a news conference, Judd described the findings of "Operation May's Monsters" as "some of the most horrific my detectives have ever seen."
They included thousands of images "depicting babies, toddlers, and children being sexually battered, forced to engage in sex acts, or displayed in sexually explicit poses," a news release read.
“All of these people, which is unusual, are from Polk County. They should know better because we’re coming after everyone who does this with a vengeance and we’ll chase you to the ends of the Earth," Judd said.
One 66-year-old man named David Sparks was found with 350 child porn images on a CD, according to the sheriff. They reportedly depicted children between 3 months and 12 years old being sexually battered.
Judd explained that Sparks' wife of 10 years is a retired child protective services worker out of Missouri.
"She had no knowledge of his evil deeds and was absolutely mortified because she spent years and years and years protecting children only to have his secret life destroying children’s lives," he said.
Another man named Stefan Young, 58, was a self-employed boudoir photographer who frequently photographed children, Judd explained. He was arrested after undercover detectives responded to his ad on Craigslist.
Young reportedly told detectives he had photographed children as young as 13 years old in underwear and completely nude with parents' authorization. The sheriff's office is working on identifying the children in the photos.
Paul Viel, a 40-year-old Disney employee, was also arrested during the investigation.
According to Judd, Viel was found with 540 counts of child porn, depicting newborns to 8-year-old children in sadomasochistic images.
“Think about this for a minute: photographs of children bound up, some with their hands tied behind their backs — infants, infants," Judd said.
In total, the eight men arrested are facing 1,280 felony charges, with additional charges pending.
"They’re nasty, nasty people," the sheriff said. "These are all filthy individuals. We’re gonna do our best to send them to prison for a very long time.”
You can watch the full news conference below.