At the beginning of this month, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office busted eight men for the possession and distribution of child pornography, including a now-former Walt Disney World Cast Member.
Polk County Child Pornography Bust
Fox 13 Tampa Bay shared details on the situation, along with video of a press conference hosted by Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
Judd said that most of the men were employed, though one did not work and lived with his parents. He added that many of the men were married and at least one had children though detectives did not find images of those children in the child pornography. According to PCSO, deputies seized 1,276 images during this child pornography operation.
This bust was named “Operation May’s Monsters,” initiated after a concerned citizen contacted the police about a Craigslist advertisement revolving around 58-year-old Stefan Young, who was offering to take photographs of children in exchange for cash. Young was arrested after bragging about his exploits to an undercover deputy.
Among others who worked at Best Buy and Publix, 40-year-old Paul Viel was employed at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café in the Tomorrowland area of Magic Kingdom. Quotes from Sheriff Judd offer some graphic detail about the severity of harm caused by him and other men to the children, but in more delicate terms, Viel is facing a total of 540 felony charges.
Another former Cast Member, Daniel Rivera, was recently arrested for similar charges, along with sharing the personal information of his co-workers at Disney online.
The suspects are facing 1,280 felony charges combined, and as the investigation is still ongoing, this number may increase. Sheriff Judd is also asking for anyone and everyone’s help in identifying the victims, as many do not seem to be from Polk County.
Each time one of these monsters upload and share child pornography, they are feeding a child exploitation pipeline and they are victimizing children over and over again.
If you have any information, or know someone who is a victim, please contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
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