1,280 Charges Filed Against 8 Men In Polk County Child Porn Sting

POLK COUNTY, FL — Detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Computer Crimes Unit charged eight men with 1,280 felonies during "Operation May's Monsters" for possession of child pornography.

The operation began after the sheriff's office received tips from the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children that the eight men were likely transmitting or downloading child abuse images and videos.

Detectives served search warrants at the homes of the eight men and seized all of their digital devices for further analysis. In addition to the 1,280 felonies filed against the men, they could face additional charges if more illegal content is found.

Detectives discovered thousands of photos and videos depicting babies, toddlers and children being sexually battered, forced to engage in sex acts and displayed in sexually explicit poses.

“These videos and photographs are some of the most horrific my detectives have ever seen — images of children being forced to expose their genitalia and raped," said Sheriff Grady Judd during a news conference Thursday. "Each time one of these monsters uploads and shares child pornography, they are feeding the child exploitation pipeline and they are victimizing children over and over again. Parents, this is another stark reminder of why it is important to get all in your child’s business when it comes to their gaming stations, cell phones and other electronic devices.”

Arrested were:

• 49-year-old William Cuevas of Auburndale, charged with 66 counts of enhanced possession of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography after an on-scene preview of his devices, during which detectives found images and videos of children as young as 4 years old being sexually battered. Cuevas is being held in the Polk County Jail on $155,000 bail ($5,000 per charge).
• 52-year-old Jay Homuth of Lakeland, charged with 97 counts of enhanced possession of child pornography after an on-scene preview of his devices, during which detectives found images and videos of children as young as 5 years old being sexually battered. Homuth told detectives that he is addicted to child pornography and was uncertain how many illegal files would be located on his devices. He is being held in the Polk County Jail on $485,000 bail ($5,000 per charge).
• 66-year-old David Sparks of Lakeland, charged with 350 counts of enhanced possession of child pornography after an on-scene preview of his devices, during which detectives found images of children as young as 3 months old being sexually battered. He told detectives that he has been viewing child pornography off and on for about 30 years. Sparks is being held in the Polk County Jail on $1,750,000 bail ($5,000 per charge).
• 33-year-old Shayne Osborne of Polk City, charged with 201 counts of enhanced possession of child pornography after an on-scene preview of his devices, during which detectives found images and videos of children as young as 12 months old being sexually battered. Osborne told detectives that he had come across child pornography when searching for bestiality pornography. He also claimed to delete it after he downloaded it. Osborne is being held in the Polk County Jail on $1,005,000 bail ($5,000 per charge).
• 39-year-old Ryan Thomas of Haines City, charged with 11 counts of enhanced possession of child pornography after an on-scene preview of his devices, during which detectives found images and videos of children as young as 5 years old being sexually battered. He is being held in the Polk County Jail on $55,000 bail ($5,000 per charge).
• 40-year-old Paul Viel of Davenport, charged with 540 counts of enhanced possession of child pornography after an on-scene preview of his devices, during which detectives found images and videos of children as young as newborns being sexually battered. Viel works for Walt Disney World at the Cosmic Rays Restaurant. He is being held in the Polk County Jail on $2,700,000 bail ($5,000 per charge).
• 24-year-old Reid Donaldson of Davenport, charged with 11 counts of enhanced possession of child pornography after an on-scene preview of his devices, during which detectives found images and videos of children as young as 3 years old being sexually battered. Donaldson is being held in the Polk County Jail on $110,000 bail ($10,000 per charge).

Additionally, on April 24, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications Center received a tip that 58-year-old Stefan Young of Lakeland, a self-employed boudoir photographer, posted an ad on Craig’s List for a mother with two young daughters to contact him. When the tipster contacted him, Young disclosed that he had conducted boudoir shoots with children as young as 13 years old. Additionally, Young told the tipster that he’d taught underage girls various sex acts in the past.

Based on information obtained during the investigation, an undercover detective responded to Young’s boudoir photo shoot advertisement. Young told the undercover detective that he would conduct a boudoir-style photoshoot with an underage girl. Young then began an online conversation with a different undercover detective who was posing as a 13-year-old girl and asked if he could take nude photos of her. Additionally, Young requested the “13-year-old girl” to “sneak” a picture of herself and send it to him.

On May 25, detectives executed a search warrant at Young’s residence and, during an on-scene preview of his devices, detectives found three lewd images of a 9-year-old child.

Young was arrested and charged with three counts of possession of child pornography and is being held in the Polk County Jail on $30,000 bail ($10,000 per charge).

The images did not appear to depict local Polk County children, but the investigation is ongoing to identify them.

The felony child pornography charges are upgraded (enhanced) if the suspect possesses 10 or more images of child pornography and at least one image contains any of the following criteria:
• Image depicts a child younger than the age of 5
• Image depicts sadomasochistic abuse of a child
• Image depicts sexual battery of a child
• Image depicts sexual bestiality involving a child
• Any sexually explicit movie involving a child.