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St. Johns County Sheriff's Office Arrests 38 Men in Separate Child Sex Operations
Two undercover operations netted 38 arrests: 15 men accused of trying to meet minors for sex and 23 registered sex offenders charged with failing to report dating and gaming accounts. A separate manhunt in St. Augustine also led to the arrest of a registered predator who attacked a woman at knifepoint.
ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. â The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest of 38 men in two separate undercover operations targeting online child exploitation and registered sex offenders who failed to comply with state reporting requirements.
In "Operation Prey No More," undercover detectives posed as children online and arrested 15 men who arrived at a meeting location expecting to have sex with a minor. According to the sheriff's office, the suspects arrived by car, on foot, and even on a scooter. One of those arrested was already out on bond following a similar arrest in Jacksonville.
"They get out on bond and what happens? They show up in St. Johns County in another operation," said R.J. Larizza, State Attorney for the 7th Judicial Circuit. "These folks don't quit and neither do we."
A detective with the sheriff's office Internet Crimes Against Children unit emphasized that online predators can come from any walk of life.
"The suspects can be anyone of any age. It can be your friend, it can be your neighbor, it could be anyone out there conversing in the world on the internet," the detective said.
In a second initiative, "Operation Final Match," deputies arrested 23 registered sex offenders for failing to report their dating and gaming accounts, which is a felony under Florida law.
Separately, deputies highlighted an arrest tied to a Saturday night manhunt in St. Augustine. Registered sex predator Kendrick Newby forced a woman into a restaurant bathroom at knifepoint on U.S. 1 North, authorities said. The victim fought her way out, and deputies spent about three hours tracking Newby after he removed his ankle monitor and fled into the woods.
St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick commended the victim for fighting off her attacker.
"It's almost like if you read his history, you knew he was going to repeat offend... but we had a female who actually stood her ground. She fought her way out of this," Hardwick said.
The sheriff's office said its work is not over: deputies are still searching for two additional sex offenders, Richard Sawyer and Joshua Fulcher. Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call CrimeStoppers.