16 accused child predators arrested in Osceola County Sheriff’s Office sting

16 alleged child predators arrested in multi-agency sting operation

FULL PRESS CONFERENCE | 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. 

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. 

Who are the 16 arrests? 

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. 

Osceola County Sheriff Christopher Blackmon held a press conference, announcing 16 child predator arrests on April 1, 2026. 

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. 

• Jason Nguyen, who works for a non-profit ministry group, was arrested for traveling to meet up with who he believed was going to be a 14-year-old girl. His arrest report says he’d asked the little girl to call him "Daddy."
• A bus driver with Volusia County public schools, Michael Cornell, was arrested for traveling, he believed, to meet with a 14-year-old girl. The Sheriff’s Office say he had condoms with him when he was arrested.
• The Sheriff’s Office says one man, Sheldon Lee, left the four nieces and nephews he was babysitting unsupervised in a hotel room to go have sex with a 14-year-old boy. He learned detectives had been posing as the would-be victim. The ages of the family members he left alone were 3, 6, 10, and 13.
• A security guard at Osceola Science Center Charter, Gary Robinson, was arrested after trying to meet up for oral sex with a 15-year-old. When he arrived, he met deputies instead.
• A nurse assistant at Advent Health, Ivan Gonzalez-Dejesus, was arrested for allegedly traveling to meet with a 13-year-old girl. He learned deputies had been posing as the little girl online and arrested him when he arrived.
• An electrician named Wesley Young was accused of traveling to meet who he believed was going to be a 13-year-old girl. Deputies say he had condoms with him and had folded the rear seats of his car down and laid out a blanket to create a makeshift bed. His arrest report notes that he allegedly thanked deputies for stopping him from carrying out, "What he was about to do."
• Deputies say one man told the detectives posing as a 14-year-old girl that he would go to jail for sleeping with her, later joking about being set up for a TV show like "To Catch a Predator."

What they're saying:

"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. 

Watch: Full press conference

16 alleged child predators arrested in multi-agency sting operation

FULL PRESS CONFERENCE | 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. 

Message to parents

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." 

Disrupting criminal conduct

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 the Statewide Prosecution said. Peters said investigators are aiming to disrupt criminal conduct at the point where their intent becomes action. 

"Traveling to meet a child for sexual purposes will result in your arrest, in your prosecution, in our ultimate sentence," Peters said. 

Prosecutors warn: online anonymity will no longer protect your criminal conduct. 

What's next:

Our job is far from over, Blackmon said.

"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.