Deputies: 13 arrested in undercover child sex sting

A six day undercover operation in Polk County resulted in 13 men arrested after deputies said they responded to online ads believing they would be meeting children for sex.

The ads were created by deputies, who posed as boys and girls in an attempt to lure adults who travel to meet minors.

Of the 13 arrested, six were from Orlando. Others included men from Kissimmee, Holiday, Lake Mary, Davenport, Winter Haven and Montverde.

Many suspects brought with them sex toys and gifts, and believed they were meeting children 13 and 14 years old, according to Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sherrie Morgan.

Once confronted by deputies, one suspect said he knew he was HIV positive when he believed he was soliciting a child, Morgan said.

Another suspect, Thien Nguyen, 26, of Orlando, was an ex-military officer previously convicted for lewd and lascivious molestation, according to Morgan.

Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sherrie Morgan initially said two others were Disney restaurant workers. Robert Grassano-Mazeika, 22, of Davenport, told deputies he was a cook at a resort, according to the Sheriff ’s Office. The other, Timo Townsend, 24, of Davenport, was a food runner, the agency said.

But a Disney spokesperson said one of the workers referenced is not currently a Disney cast member and the other was an employee at an operating participating restaurant— one that is owned and operated by a third party, but on Disney property.

The Sheriff ’s Office later issued a correction, saying Townsend was a food runner at a Disney Springs restaurant that is not owned by Disney.

Ten others arrested included men between 22 and 54 years old:

Christian Labarca Morles, 28, of Kissimmee

Richard Victor Hicks, 29, of Montverde

Justin Brandon Kinard, 24, of Lake Mary

AbrahamVafan Dukuly, 28, of Winter Haven

Antonio Linares, 28, of Orlando

Joseph Mujica, 54, of Orlando

Alexander Chinea-Ortiz, 34, of Orlando

Georgios Kiragiannis, 39, or Orlando

Carlos Agasta Llanos, 34, of Orlando

Frank Otero, 29, of Holiday

“These predators are out there, trying to sexually seduce and violate children. They lurk in chat rooms and online, ready to groom children for sex,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. “Fortunately, because of the great work of our detectives, at least 13 of them won’t be doing that any time soon.”

In all, the 13 suspects face a total of 58 charges, including attempted lewd and lascivious molestation, using communication device to commit a felony, attempted uninformed HIV infected sexual intercourse, traveling to meet a minor for sex, attempted lewd battery and transmitting material harmful to a minor, Morgan said.