6 Victims Rescued, 171 Arrested In FL Undercover Trafficking Sting

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — A months-long undercover human trafficking sting netted nearly 200 arrests and the rescue of six victims, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said Thursday.

A Chamberlain High School teacher was among those arrested during Operation Unmasking Predators after being accused of trying to pay $140 to have sex with a 15-year-old girl, Chronister said.

Investigators began targeting people accused of exploiting children for sex in July, and in total, 171 have been arrested thus far.

"That was 171 potential children in this community who would have ben exploited and their lives changed forever," Chronister said.

The sting included residential search warrants, warrants linked to the dark web, undercover online chats, sex offender checks and and the investigation of "anyone who traveled to have sex with children," he said.

Of note, he highlighted four cases at a news conference.

Robert Hess

Robert Hess, 57, a social sciences teacher at Chamberlain High in Tampa, is facing several charges in connection with the sting. He was not listed online as a school staff member as of Friday.

Chronister said Hess agreed to meet who he thought was a 15-year-old girl in efforts to pay $140 to have protected sex with her for 30 minutes. The girl was actually an undercover detective.

Hess was arrested on charges of solicitation to commit human trafficking for a commercial sexual activity (victim less than 18), lewd or lascivious battery (engage), use of computer sciences or devices to solicit certain illegal acts and traveling to meet minor after using comp services/devices to solicit certain illegal acts, authorities said.

Hillsborough County Jail records on Friday showed Hess was released on a surety bond on Oct. 18 after being incarcerated for 17 days.

The Tampa Bay Times reported Hess, who was a JROTC instructor, has pled not guilty.

Hillsborough County Schools told WTVT that Hess was fired on Oct. 3 after working at the school since 2008.

D'vonjae Farquharson and Marcel Walsh

A 17-year-old girl, living in a motel with her mother and a sibling, was rescued after Chronister said she was trafficked.

D'vonjae Farquharson, 25, was accused of making friends with the teenage girl and convincing her that they can make money together.

Chronister said he trafficked the girl, charging people $400 to have unprotected sex with her. He allowed her to keep $40 for each sexual encounter, Chronister said.

Eventually, he partnered with Marcel Walsh, 46, to "protect her" and schedule more appointments to make more money, Chronister said.

Undercover detectives saw an advertisement and acted as a buyer for the girl. Chronister said during the meeting, the girl was rescued and Farquharson was arrested.

Walsh attempted to flee the scene but was also arrested, the sheriff added.

Jail records showed Farquharson was arrested on charges of two counts of deriving support from proceeds of prostitution and two counts of human trafficking for commercial sexual activity (victim less than 18). He was released on a surety bond on Sept. 26 after being incarcerated since July 29, jail records showed.

Walsh was arrested on charges of human trafficking for commercial sexual activity (victim less than 18), unlawful use of two way communications device, deriving support from proceeds of prostitution, possession of cocaine and possession of cannabis less than 20 grams, jail records showed. He was being held without bond as of Friday, records showed.

Frank Corso

Chronister described Frank Corso, 69, as "a monster."

Authorities received a tip that Corso was in possession of child pornography. While executing a search warrant at his home, Chronister said authorities found a computer.

"They had no idea how horrible it was going to be," Chronister said. "This monster ... was in possession of a million pornographic images and videos of children."

Corso, who shared a home with his daughter and her four children, was arrested on 100 counts of possession of child pornography 10 or more images and content of images, Chronister said.

"This is what keeps us up at night," Chronister said. "This is what movies are made of."

Jail records showed Corso was being held in jail on a $2.5 million bond as of Friday.

Can Tran

Can Tran, 34, was heading to meet with a 15-year-old whom he was intending to pay $140 for sex but got spooked when he noticed law enforcement, Chronister said.

Detectives did not chase Tran out of safety for the community, but Chronister said they knew where Tran lived.

They staked out at Tran's home, where he noticed them a second time; but, this time, Chronister said the department's Aviation Unit was prepared and a police chase ensued.

Tran drove "erratically and wrecklessly" during the chase, hitting another vehicle and ultimately overturning his vehicle, Chronister said.

He was arrested on charges of solicitation to commit human trafficking for a commercial sexual activity (victim less than 18), lewd or lascivious battery (engage), use of computer sciences or devices to solicit certain illegal acts, fleeing to elude highspeed, two counts of aggravated fleeing to elude, traveling to meet minor after using comp services/devices to solicit certain illegal acts and aggravated battery on law enforcement officer deadly weapon, Chronister said.

Jail records showed Tran was released from jail on Sept. 13 after being arrested on Aug. 29.