Twenty-eight people were arrested Thursday in Polk County, FLORIDA, for possession and distribution of child pornography

Posted: 11:45 am EDT April 22, 2010Updated: 12:16 pm EDT April 22, 2010

POLK COUNTY, Fla. -- Twenty-eight people were arrested Thursday in Polk County for possession and distribution of child pornography, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Officers said five of the suspects were additionally charged with sex crimes against children.

THE SUSPECTS: See List Of All Suspects Arrested
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One year after the first Operation Child Shield, in which 45 suspects were arrested, Polk County Sheriff’s Computer Crimes detectives added another 50 suspects to the Polk County jail during Operation Child Shield II. Investigators said the 50 arrests were the largest operation of its kind by any single agency in Florida history.

At a late morning press conference, Sheriff Judd Grady talked about the 28 most recent arrests.

“During past child pornography investigations, locating child pornographers with thousands of images wasn’t difficult, but finding child victims was,” said Sheriff Grady Judd. “I’m pleased with the hard work of our detectives, who were able to save eight children during this operation who were actively being exploited and abused, or had the potential of being abused again. Every time a child sex abuse or exploitation image is downloaded, that child is again victimized. And, tragically, some of these suspects are also physically abusing children as well.”

Twenty-one of the 50 suspects were arrested from July 2009 through March 2010, when detectives served search warrants at their residences and found they had routine access to children as well. As a precaution, the men were arrested and investigated to determine if any of the children they had access to, had been sexually abused. Another 28 were arrested Thursday, with one suspect still at large.

Four of the men and one woman had been sexually abusing children, in addition to creating and downloading child pornography. The five suspects facing abuse charges are Daryl McClelland, Richard Nobles, Ricky Bailey, Jodi Vinson and Angel Pizarro.

The suspects’ computers were previously seized and were found to have contained child pornography and/or evidence that the suspects had illegally downloaded or traded child pornography online. Charges ranged from one to 50 counts of possession of child pornography. The images located by detectives included victims ranging in age from six months old to 12 years of age.

As a result of the investigation, the eight children victimized have been identified or have come forward. Some of the 21 suspects in the first round-up have already been sentenced to state prison and some are awaiting trial in the Polk County jail.

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My hat is off to :LE: :FBI: Thank you.

Lawmen say Jeffrey Drew, in custody above, “fantasizes about rape, and downloads video portraying women being raped.” Drew, a Bartow resident, was charged with possession of child pornography. He was one of 29 men arrested Thursday by sheriff’s deputies as part of Operation Child Shield 2.

Jeffrey Drew “fantasizes about rape,” sheriff’s officials say. The 18-year-old Drew, a resident of 7314 Thomas Jefferson Circle in Bartow, was one of 29-people arrested Thursday in a county-wide child pornography raid by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.


Ronald Brandenburg, a self-employed mechanic from Lakeland, was charged with possession of child pornography in the raid.
Drew regularly downloaded videos portraying women being raped, sheriff’s reports indicate. He’s now charged with possession of child pornography.

The year-long investigation resulted in 50 arrests across the county. In some cases hundreds of pornographic images were confiscated.

According to Judd, the investigation – Operation Child Shield II – was the largest-ever roundup of sexual predators in Florida. Statistics, Judd said, show that 85 percent of cases dealing with sexual abuse involve someone in a custodial relationship with a child. Two-thirds of all sexual predator suspects possess child pornography, the sheriff said.

"These are very dangerous people that have no regard for what they are doing," Judd said.

Daryl McClelland, another Bartowan, is what Judd described as the “worst of the worst.”

The 56-year-old (described by the top cop as an “absolute monster”) remains behind bars from a Jan. 22 arrest on charges he sexually abused a 2-year-old and created child porn during the molestation.

McClelland has been charged with 60 counts of possession of child pornography and lewd and lascivious acts on a minor. Unemployed at the time of his arrest, reports indicate, McClelland reportedly used someone else’s unsecured wireless Internet to download photographs and videos showing adults engaging in sex acts with children. Since his arrest another victim has come forward.

"During past child pornography investigations, locating child pornographers with thousands of images wasn't difficult, but finding child victims was," Judd said. "I challenged them: 'Let's focus on the children.'"

Eight Polk infants and children were identified during the investigation as victims of pornographers, Judd said.

Some of the pornography depicted 2-year-olds in diapers being raped, the sheriff said.

The images located by detectives included victims ranging in age from 6 months to 12 years.

"If you thought of the most deviant conduct you can imagine, what they're doing and participating in is worse," Judd said.

"These are monsters in our society. These people don't deserve the air they are breathing."

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Fifty suspects who viewed or distributed pornography involving children as young as 6 months old have been arrested in what authorities call the largest investigation of its kind in the state's history.

Arrests in Operation Child Shield II started in July, the sheriff's office said. The final 29 suspects were rounded up Thursday.

Polk detectives seized pornographic images of children as young as 6 months old during the investigation, Sheriff Grady Judd said.

Some of the pornography depicted 2-year-olds in diapers being raped, the sheriff said.

"If you thought of the most deviant conduct you can imagine, what they're doing and participating in is worse," Judd said.

Charges against the other suspects ranged from one to 50 counts, Judd said. The suspects were charged with possessing or trading child pornography or both, he said.

Eight children who were victimized have been identified, Judd said.

Operation Child Shield II comes nearly one year after the Polk's Operation Child Shield, during which 45 suspects were arrested by Polk sheriff's Computer Crimes detectives.

As the suspects arrested Thursday were being led into Polk County Jail, a few answered questions from reporters.

"What I did was very wrong, and I'm truly sorry for what I did, and the stuff that I saw on there I would not wish this on my worst enemy. It's the worst mistake I ever did, and I am truly sorry for what I've done," said 39-year-old Roger Wilkins, who faces 50 counts possession of child pornography
"I was going to do regular pornography, and it carried me to a place where I did not want to go, and I told myself that I would never ever go on that crap, and I broke that promise," he said.

Sean McIIwain, 21, who faces 40 counts of possession and one count of promotion of child pornography, denied the allegations.

"I didn't download anything. I haven't been on my computer in years," he said.

"These images were looked up by somebody else, and I was the one who got stuck taking the fall."

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Undercover detectives in Polk County are back surfing the net after making the state's biggest child pornography bust last week. They arrested 50 people, and for some detectives, the work is almost an addiction: they are passionate about arresting people who download child porn.

An undercover detective we're calling "Brian Smith" considers himself an addict. He is driven relentlessly by a cause, passionate about arresting people who download child pornography.

"A lot of them know they are going to get caught because they know in their heart what they're doing is wrong," Smith said.

Smith is one of four detectives who work in a Polk County Sheriff's Office unit dedicated to investigating and hopefully preventing internet crimes against children. Three civilians work along side them. They examine suspects' computers after they are seized.

Smith and his colleagues stay very busy. Just last week, they announced the biggest bust of its kind: 50 people, including one woman, arrested in connection with the sexual abuse of kids.

That brings the number of accused child pornographers that Polk County has arrested in the last few years to close to 150.

In this recent sweep, called Operation Child Shield II, investigators also discovered eight children who had been victimized. Seven of the eight live in Polk County. Research shows that most people who crave child porn eventually molest children.

Smith, who has a two and a half year-old daughter, has been working child porn cases for four years. He has seen it all -- he says one suspect was only 12 years old.

"Do you ever have any sympathy for them?", we asked.

"From time to time," he replied. "But I know that's misplaced."

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The yearlong investigation, called Operation Child Shield II, resulted in 21 arrests of Polk County residents between July 2009 and March and 29 arrests Thursday. This is nearly one year after "Operation Child Shield," in which 45 suspects were arrested.

Charges filed against suspects in the operation include lewd molestation and lewd acts on a minor, first-degree felonies; promotion of child pornography and child cruelty, second-degree felonies; and possession of child pornography, a third-degree felony unless 10 or more images are involved. In that case, the charge is a second-degree felony.

Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said he told investigators from the beginning of Operation Child Shield II to focus on finding victims in the cases.

"During past child pornography investigations, locating child pornographers with thousands of images wasn't difficult, but finding child victims was," Judd said. "I challenged them, 'Let's focus on the children.'"

Eight Polk infants and children were found who were being or had been sexually exploited or abused.

The images located by detectives included victims ranging in age from 6 months to 12 years.

Most of those arrested had in their possession more pornography images than they were charged with, officials said. The actual charges were limited to 40 or 50 counts, more than enough to ensure effective prosecution.

While other multi-jurisdictional investigations have led to a high number of arrests, this is the largest number of suspects arrested for child pornography by a single agency, according to sheriff's spokesman Scott Wilder. Since 2007 there have been 141 arrests of child pornography suspects through other sheriff's office investigations.

After Judd addressed the media at the PCSO Central Distric Command in Winter Haven, suspects were escorted to waiting sheriff's patrol cars to be taken to the Polk County Jail.

Roger Wilkins, 38, of 5650 New Tampa Highway, Lakeland, apologized to reporters for his actions.

Wilkins said he began looking at adult pornography and became addicted. The more he looked at, the more deviant it became.

"It carried me to a place I didn't want to go," he said Thursday. But he said he is getting help and was already attending sex addict meetings.

His case began when detectives received a tip that an adult man was trying to solicit sex from teen girls online.

He was charged with 50 counts of child pornography, reports said.

Sean McIlwain, 21, of 6534 Timucuans Drive, Lakeland, faces 40 counts of child pornography and one count of promotion of child pornography, reports said.

"The images were loaded up by someone else. I'll be taking this to court," McIlwain said.

According to reports, Jodi Vinson, 34, created child porn for her 29-year-old boyfriend, Ricky Bailey. Reports also said Bailey asked Vinson to arrange access to children.

"They don't deserve the air they breathe," Judd said.

But Judd called 56-year-old Daryl McClelland of 3489 U.S. 17 in Bartow the "worst of the worst" and an "absolute monster."

Reports said McClelland used someone else's unsecured wireless Internet to download child porn of adults having sex with children.

He is also accused of sexually abusing a 2-year-old and creating his own child porn, Judd said. Two of his victims have been identified.

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A new roundup of suspects Thursday brought to 141 the number of people arrested on child pornography charges in three years worth of targeted investigations by the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

The arrests of 29 men concluded Operation Child Shield II, an investigation launched in July 2009 and the fifth anti-child porn operation conducted by the Sheriff's Office since January 2007.

During a Thursday morning press conference at the sheriff's Central District Command in Winter Haven, Sheriff Grady Judd described some of the crimes uncovered by the investigation. Among the images found was one showing an infant in diapers being raped, Judd said.

"These are monsters in our society," the sheriff said while trying to control his emotions. "These people don't deserve the air they are breathing."

Judd said the images needed to be described because society has been desensitized to the crime of child pornography. He said the Internet makes it easy for people to get child porn.

At 4 a.m. Thursday, sheriff's deputies throughout Polk County began arresting 29 people identified as suspects during Operation Child Shield II. Including Thursday's roundup, 50 people have been arrested in the operation.

Charges ranged from one to 50 counts of possession of child pornography and some charges of promotion of child porn.

The Sheriff's Office reported that the computers owned or used by the men arrested Thursday had been previously seized by investigators. Those computers were found to have contained child pornography and/or evidence that the suspects had illegally downloaded or traded child pornography online, authorities said.

Possession or promotion of child pornography is a second-degree felony, Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Carrie Eleazer said.

According to Judd, Operation Child Shield II was the largest roundup of sexual predators in Florida. He said statistics show that 85 percent of cases dealing with sexual abuse involve someone in a custodial relationship with a child. Two-thirds of all sexual predator suspects possess child pornography, the sheriff said.

"These are very dangerous people that have no regard for what they are doing," Judd said.

Judd pleaded with parents to take a more active role in their children's lives.

"You have to know who your children are around and have to talk to your children and ask questions," the sheriff said. "Because if you don't, these people will get to your children."

Judd said people are worried about texting and driving, putting their children in seat belts and strapping infants into their car seats.

"Why isn't there more of a worry about protecting children from this type of thing," he asked.

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Michael Cochran, 24, of Mulberry; 40 counts of possession of child porn; one count of promotion of child porn.
Roger Wilkins, 38, of Lakeland; 50 counts of possession of child porn.
Sean McIlwain, 21, of Lakeland; 40 counts of possession of child porn; one count of promotion of child porn.
Timothy Rea, 37, of Lakeland; 25 counts of possession of child porn. Rea was arrested in Savannah, Ga.
Andrew Hoppen, 45, of Lakeland; six counts of possession of child porn.
Christopher Stark, 23, of Lakeland; 50 counts of possession of child porn; one count of promotion of child porn.
Jeffrey Banks, 29, of Winter Haven; 40 counts of possession of child porn.
Christopher Rhodes, 20, of Lakeland; 40 counts of possession of child porn; one count of promotion of child porn.
James Ledbetter, 56, of Davenport; 40 counts of possession of child porn; one count of promotion of child porn.
Stephen Kaczmarski, 26, of Davenport; 28 counts of possession of child porn. Kaczmarski was arrested at his job as a security guard at the Isleworth Country Club in Orlando and was booked into the Orange County Jail.
Michael Saites, 56, of Lakeland; 40 counts of possession of child porn; one count of promotion of child porn.
Luis Rodriguez, 20, of Davenport; 40 counts of possession of child porn.
Todd Johnson, 38, of Lakeland; one count of promotion of child porn.
Robert Monroe, 48, of Lakeland; one count of promotion of child porn.
David Rosado, 56, of Winter Haven; 40 counts of possession of child porn.
Paul Hoffman, 23, of Winter Haven; 40 counts of possession of child porn; one count of promotion of child porn.
Randall Norris, 22, of Auburndale; 20 counts of possession of child porn; one count of promotion of child porn.
John Tull, 16, of Lakeland; 40 counts of possession of child porn.
Benjamin Swanson, 20, of Poinciana; 40 counts of possession of child porn.
Jacob Denardo, 28, of Mulberry; four counts of possession of child porn.
Randolph Westenfelder, 37, of Lakeland; 20 counts of possession of child porn.
Joshua Rowland, 21, of Polk City; 31 counts of possession of child porn.
Jeffrey Drew, 18, of Bartow; one count of possession of child porn.
Luis Chavez, 28, of Lakeland; three counts of possession of child porn.
Charles Ayers, 22, of Winter Haven; five counts of possession of child porn.
Timothy Welch, 29, of Auburndale; 26 counts of possession of child porn; one count of violation of probation.
Ronald Brandenburg, 18, of Lakeland; three counts of possession of child porn.
James Dudley, 22, of Lakeland; 40 counts of possession of child porn.
Tim Lakin, 39, of Lakeland; seven counts of possession of child porn; one count of promotion of child porn.

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Andrew Hoppen, 45, of Lakeland (reportedly a former Disney employee also maintained accounts on Facebook and Twitter).

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James Dudley
23 / Male
lakeland, Florida, US
Last Login: 3/30/2010



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Operation Child Shield II

On Thursday, April 22, 2010, nearly one year after the first “Operation Child Shield,” in which 45 suspects were arrested, Polk County Sheriff’s Computer Crimes detectives added another 50 suspects to the Polk County Jail during “Operation Child Shield II.”

Twenty-one (21) of the 50 suspects were arrested from July 2009 through March 2010, when detectives served search warrants at their residences and found they had routine access to children as well. As a precaution, these men were arrested and investigated to determine if any of the children they had access to had been sexually abused. Tragically, 4 of these men and one woman had been sexually abusing children, in addition to creating and downloading child pornography: Daryl McClelland, Richard Nobles, Ricky Bailey, Jodi Vinson and Angel Pizarro. Fortunately, as a result of this investigation, the children they victimized (8 victims so far have been identified and/or have come forward) will no longer be hurt by these five suspects. Some of the 21 suspects have already been sentenced to state prison, and some are awaiting trial in the Polk County Jail.

All 29 of the remaining suspects were arrested on the final day of Operation Child Shield II, on April 22, 2010. These suspects’ computers were previously seized and were found to have contained child pornography and/or evidence that the suspects had illegally downloaded or traded child pornography online. Charges ranged from 1 to 50 counts Possession of Child Pornography. Most of those arrested had in their possession more pornography images than they were charged with - actual charges were limited to 40 or 50 counts, more than enough to ensure effective prosecution. The images located by detectives included victims ranging in age from 6 months old to 12 years of age.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is the Central Florida Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Coordinator, due to its reputation for taking an active lead in investigations such as this.

“During past child pornography investigations, locating child pornographers with thousands of images wasn’t difficult – but finding child victims was,” says Sheriff Grady Judd. “I’m pleased with the hard work of our detectives, who were able to save 8 children during this operation who were actively being exploited and abused, or had the potential of being abused again. Every time a child sex abuse or exploitation image is downloaded, that child is again victimized. And, tragically, some of these suspects are also physically abusing children as well.”

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A massive child pornography bust in Polk County led to 29 arrests. Thursday morning, 28 people were arrested and the 29th suspect, Tim Lakin, turned himself in Thursday afternoon. The group is facing charges for possession and distribution of child pornography.

The 29 arrests Thursday come after 21 others were arrested from July 2009 through March 2010. During those arrests, five of the suspects were additionally charged with sex crimes against children.
WFTV was there when several suspects were escorted to law enforcement vehicles Thursday and, while some denied the accusations, other apologized for their actions.
“Are you addicted to child porn?” WFTV reporter Melonie Holt asked one suspect.
“What I did was very wrong,” he replied.
“I got caught with something I wasn't supposed to have,” another suspect told Holt.

Some of the accused were vocal about their arrest.
“Sean, do you have anything to say for yourself? reporter Melonie Holt asked.
"Yeah, f*** the Polk County Sheriff's Department!" the suspect replied.
WFTV found out some of the children they were looking at live in Central Florida. At least two of the people arrested in the massive child porn sweep were actually generating the images using local children.
Investigators told WFTV they have identified at least a half-dozen local victims. Thursday, Sheriff Grady Judd said computer crimes detectives made it a priority to try to identify the young victims in the images.
Detectives were also watching to see if any of the suspects had access to young children and, as a result, the sheriff said eight children were rescued from a life of abuse.

One by one, more than 20 child porn suspects were escorted to jail from the Polk County Sheriff's Office Thursday morning on multiple charges of possession of child pornography and, in some cases, promotion of child porn.
“It was just one of those things to look at. It wasn’t like something I was into,” a suspect told Holt.
“Can you tell us why you were downloading those images?” Holt asked.
“What I did was very wrong and I'm truly sorry for what I did. The stuff that I saw on there I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy,” the suspect replied.
Sheriff Grady Judd called the images uncovered by detectives unspeakable. Some of the images of sexual abuse involved infants. A few of the suspects rounded up in Operation Child Shield II are accused of sexually abusing children.
“I said let's challenge ourselves to see how many victims we can find,and they did,” Sheriff Grady said.
During the first round up from July 2009 through March 2010, four of the men and one woman had been sexually abusing children, in addition to creating and downloading child pornography. The five suspects facing abuse charges are Daryl McClelland, Richard Nobles, Ricky Bailey, Jodi Vinson and Angel Pizarro.
A 6-year-old and 10-year-old, deputies said, were sexually abused by the Lakeland woman, Jodi Vinson, who is the only female suspect in the round up. Detectives said she allowed the children to be abused by another suspect that she met on MySpace.
There have been 50 arrests since July and the sheriff had a warning.
“One, we'll find you. Two, we'll arrest you. And three, we'll put you in prison,” Grady said.
The sheriff also called on the public to report any inappropriate behavior, because each image represents a child being abused.
The State Attorneys prosecuted 68 cases involving charges like these last year. WFTV was told that most of the cases don't go to trial; they end in plea deals.
The suspects’ ages range from 16 to 56 years old. WFTV learned that one suspect is a UCF student, another is an Isleworth security guard and one is an employee from the Lakeland Ledger.
Judd's agency has arrested 141 people suspected of downloading child pornography in various sweeps during the past three years.

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One year after Operation Child Shield -- which resulted in 45 arrests -- 50 more suspects have now been arrested. In Operation Child Shield II, 21 of the 50 suspects were arrested between July 2009 and March 2010. Some are either in jail awaiting trial or in prison.

The final suspects were taken into custody Thursday, except for one suspect who is still at large. The computers of these individuals had already been seized and investigators say child porn was found.

Sheriff Grady Judd said the images found on computers this time showed children ranging in age from 6 months to 12 years. Four men and one woman also are accused of sexually abusing children. Eight alleged victims were identified and located.

One suspect is Daryl McClelland. He was arrested in January on sexual battery charges after convincing parents to let him babysit the kids he victimized has been part investigation that's been ongoing. McClelland has been in jail since the investigation began. McClelland is also accused of making child porn involving a baby.

Among the other suspects arrested:
Mark Kephart -- a Disney bus driver and operates inflatables business for kids parties, facing one count of child porn.
Michael Cochran -- a Goodwill stocker facing 40 counts of child porn.
Timothy Rae -- a Lakeland Ledger presser facing 25 counts of child porn.
Tim Lakin -- wanted -- a Lakeland Electric power plant operator facing 7 counts of child porn.
Stephan Kaczmarski -- a security guard at Islewoth Country Club facing 28 counts of possession of child porn.
Sergio Sierra -- a maintenance worker at Park View Apartment Complex facing 40 counts of possessing child porn.
Andrew Hoppen -- a previous Disney employee facing 6 counts of child porn.
Jodi Vinson and Ricky Bailey -- Vinson would allegedly find young girls and make child pornography with Bailey. Vinson is the first woman arrested in a Polk operation like this.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office released this Excel spreadsheet listing all 50 suspects. Note that there are two worksheets in the document - the first contains the 29 suspects who were taken into custody today, and the second worksheet contains 21 suspects who were previously taken into custody.

Sheriff Judd's agency has arrested 141 people suspected of downloading child pornography in various sweeps during the past three years.

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In the largest operation of its kind in Florida's history, the Polk County Sheriff's Office has arrested and charged 50 people with varying degrees of child pornography possession and distribution.

The yearlong investigation, called Operation Child Shield II, resulted in 21 arrests of Polk County residents between July 2009 and March and 29 arrests Thursday. This is nearly one year after "Operation Child Shield," in which 45 suspects were arrested.

Charges filed against suspects in the operation include lewd molestation and lewd acts on a minor, first-degree felonies; promotion of child pornography and child cruelty, second-degree felonies; and possession of child pornography, a third-degree felony unless 10 or more images are involved. In that case, the charge is a second-degree felony.

Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said he told investigators from the beginning of Operation Child Shield II to focus on finding victims in the cases.

"During past child pornography investigations, locating child pornographers with thousands of images wasn't difficult, but finding child victims was," Judd said. "I challenged them, 'Let's focus on the children.'"

Eight Polk infants and children were found who were being or had been sexually exploited or abused.

The images located by detectives included victims ranging in age from 6 months to 12 years.

Most of those arrested had in their possession more pornography images than they were charged with, officials said. The actual charges were limited to 40 or 50 counts, more than enough to ensure effective prosecution.

While other multi-jurisdictional investigations have led to a high number of arrests, this is the largest number of suspects arrested for child pornography by a single agency, according to sheriff's spokesman Scott Wilder. Since 2007 there have been 141 arrests of child pornography suspects through other sheriff's office investigations.

After Judd addressed the media at the PCSO Central Distric Command in Winter Haven, suspects were escorted to waiting sheriff's patrol cars to be taken to the Polk County Jail.

Roger Wilkins, 38, of 5650 New Tampa Highway, Lakeland, apologized to reporters for his actions.

Wilkins said he began looking at adult pornography and became addicted. The more he looked at, the more deviant it became.

"It carried me to a place I didn't want to go," he said Thursday. But he said he is getting help and was already attending sex addict meetings.

His case began when detectives received a tip that an adult man was trying to solicit sex from teen girls online.

He was charged with 50 counts of child pornography, reports said.

Sean McIlwain, 21, of 6534 Timucuans Drive, Lakeland, faces 40 counts of child pornography and one count of promotion of child pornography, reports said.

"The images were loaded up by someone else. I'll be taking this to court," McIlwain said.

According to reports, Jodi Vinson, 34, created child porn for her 29-year-old boyfriend, Ricky Bailey. Reports also said Bailey asked Vinson to arrange access to children.

"They don't deserve the air they breathe," Judd said.

But Judd called 56-year-old Daryl McClelland of 3489 U.S. 17 in Bartow the "worst of the worst" and an "absolute monster."

Reports said McClelland used someone else's unsecured wireless Internet to download child porn of adults having sex with children.

He is also accused of sexually abusing a 2-year-old and creating his own child porn, Judd said. Two of his victims have been identified.

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