Ocala law enforcement is set to pull back the curtain on what they are calling a massive undercover child predator sting, with more than 50 arrests that the Marion County Sheriff’s Office says make it the largest operation of its kind in county history.
Sheriff Billy Woods is scheduled to detail the operation at an 11 a.m. news conference Thursday at the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Operations Center, where he will be joined by state and federal partners. The briefing comes as Florida agencies increasingly lean on undercover online work to intercept adults who target children.
According to WKMG ClickOrlando, the lineup for the event includes Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, Florida Highway Patrol Colonel Gary Howze, Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken, and representatives from the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office. A sheriff’s office news release cited by WKMG described the sting as the largest in county history and said it resulted in “more than 50 arrests.”
The county is no stranger to broad, coordinated stings. In July 2025, the Office of the Attorney General announced that a six-day undercover operation run with Marion County deputies led to 48 arrests and 153 charges, an outcome the office called record-breaking, according to the Office of the Attorney General. Investigators in that operation used undercover accounts and identified Snapchat among the platforms suspects allegedly used to reach what they believed were minors.
“They came after children, but Florida and federal law enforcement were waiting for them,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said in the July 2025 statement, as reported by the Office of the Attorney General. The release listed charges such as traveling to meet a minor, human trafficking, using a computer to solicit a child, and transmitting material harmful to a minor, and it noted that multiple suspects were flagged with ICE detainers.
What to Expect at the Briefing
At Thursday’s news conference, officials are expected to lay out how the latest undercover operation unfolded, explain how suspects were contacted, and outline what comes next for prosecutors and victim-services referrals. News 6 plans to stream the 11 a.m. briefing live, WKMG ClickOrlando reports, and the sheriff’s office has said additional details will be released at the event.
Local Context and Next Steps
Marion County has mounted several undercover efforts in recent years that brought in dozens of suspects and a mix of charges, ranging from traveling to meet minors to drug and traffic offenses, with prosecutors in the Fifth Judicial Circuit deciding how to move those cases forward. WFTV reported on a similar multi-agency sting in July 2025, and the Attorney General’s Office has signaled it intends to keep pressing platforms and tech companies on child-safety lapses.
Community advocates say these large-scale operations are designed both to head off abuse before it happens and to identify victims who may already need services. This story will be updated after the news conference with details on the number of suspects charged, the specific counts they face, and the full roster of agencies involved, once Marion County releases its complete statement.
Anyone with tips or concerns about online exploitation is urged to contact local law enforcement or the State Attorney’s victim services office for guidance.
