A 17-year-old girl reported missing from Orange County turned up in a bedroom closet in Dundee, hidden inside the home of a registered sex offender who is now under arrest, authorities said. Deputies said the juvenile was taken back home and is reported to be safe.
Detectives from the Orange County Sheriff's Office contacted Polk County detectives yesterday, and PCSO investigators went to a house on Shepard Avenue in Dundee to check on the reported runaway, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. Investigators said 30-year-old Alexis Diaz-Toledo denied knowing where the teen was and at first refused to let deputies search the residence, but detectives ultimately found the girl hiding in Diaz-Toledo's bedroom closet and arrested him.
Registration rules and alleged violations
Polk detectives said Diaz-Toledo had failed to report two vehicles kept at the Shepard Avenue address, which they noted is required information for registered offenders and put him in violation of his registration. Florida law requires convicted sexual offenders to keep registration details current, including any changes in vehicles, and failure to comply can be prosecuted as a felony under the sexual offender registration statutes, according to Florida Statutes.
Charges and prior conviction
According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Diaz-Toledo was booked on two counts of Sex Offender Fail to Comply with Registration Requirements (F3), Interfering with Custody of a Minor (F3), Sheltering a Minor Without Notifying Parent (M1), and False Information to a Law Enforcement Officer in a Missing Person investigation (M1). The agency said he has been a registered sex offender since a 2014 conviction for lewd and lascivious battery on a victim between 12 and 15 years old.
Legal consequences and next steps
Polk County detectives transported Diaz-Toledo to the Sheriff's Processing Center and said prosecutors will review the case and decide on formal charges and bond. Penalties for failing to register and for the felony counts listed can include prison time and fines under state law; more details on registration requirements are available from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Cooperation across agencies
Sheriff Grady Judd's office credited Orange County detectives for passing along the tip that sent PCSO investigators to Dundee and said that alert was key to finding the juvenile. No additional information about the teen was released, and investigators asked anyone with information about similar situations to contact local law enforcement.
