Twenty men, ages 22 to 64, were arrested after investigators said they responded to online conversations with undercover detectives posing as minors and arrived at arranged locations expecting to meet children for sex. Osceola County Sheriff Christopher Blackmon said five of the men have young children of their own and three were visiting the area on vacation. All were taken to jail.
The sheriff's office said Operation Cooked ran from September 2 through September 5, 2026. In a report citing the sheriff's office, WFTV said tactical teams moved in after the men allegedly arrived at meeting spots expecting sexual activity with children. Authorities identified five of the 20 as unlawfully present in the United States: Martin Alejandro Rojas-Castillo, Juan Sebastian Beltran-Robayo, Carlos Omar Valdez-Rosales, Jonathan Leonard Leyva-Pasquali and Christian Noguera-Quintero.
Who Was Arrested
The sheriff's office identified the suspects as Abraham Jacob Zamora, Andrew William Chandler, Aquagious Keith Williams, Bryson Eric Herzberger, Carlos Omar Valdez-Rosales, Christian Noguera-Quintero, Danny Joseph Rios-Gonzalez, Eric Daniel Kreft, Franklin Safe-Agyare, Isaiah Manuel Padovan, Jaquain Akeem Rhodan, Jonathan Leonard Leyva-Pasquali, Johnny Arturo Sanabria-Lopez, Joshua Allen Edwards, Juan Sebastian Beltran-Robayo, Leslie A. Anderson, Luis Angel Lopez-Cruz, Martin Alejandro Rojas-Castillo, Thomas George Walsh and Walter Heger.
The operation brought together personnel from the Orlando Police Department; the Orange, Polk and Columbia county sheriff's offices; the St. Cloud and Lake City police departments; and federal agents with Homeland Security. The agencies pooled tactical and digital forensics resources for the multi-day operation.
How the operation fits broader efforts
A 2012 program announcement from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention described the ICAC Task Force Program as a national network of multiagency, multijurisdictional task forces that investigate, conduct forensic examinations and prosecute internet crimes against children. Separately, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children says its CyberTipline received 20.5 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation in 2024. Those reports are not a count of arrests or confirmed offenses. For comparison, the Florida Office of the Attorney General reported that a separate undercover ICAC operation in Marion County ran from June 1 to 6, 2026, and resulted in 58 arrests.
Prosecution and case status
The Office of Statewide Prosecution is leading the cases. The allegations have not been proven in court, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless found guilty.
Florida law enforcement agencies have conducted child-predator stings outside Osceola County. The Office of Statewide Prosecution is handling the Operation Cooked defendants.
What Florida Law Says
Florida law treats using an electronic device to solicit, lure or entice a minor for unlawful sexual acts as a felony; traveling to meet a minor after online solicitation is a second-degree felony.
Sheriff Blackmon leads the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, which has run two major ICAC stings in a single year. Five of the suspects were identified as unlawfully present in the United States.
Context Beyond Osceola County
State and local Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) units investigate online child exploitation, including in Osceola County.
Formal charging documents from the Office of Statewide Prosecution, specific bond conditions for each defendant, and the scheduling of initial court appearances in Osceola County Circuit Court remain open questions for now. As with any criminal case, the allegations against the 20 men have not been proven in court, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless found guilty.
