Detectives Arrest 13 Men in Online Predator Sting

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office arrested 13 people in Operation Intercept IV, an initiative to protect Sarasota County children from online predators. Suspects ranging in age from 18-53 responded to Internet-based ads, online apps or social media sites and engaged in sexually explicit written and verbal conversations. More than half of the suspects live in Sarasota County and the others in surrounding counties including DeSoto, Pinellas and Hillsborough. Some of the men sent explicit photos and several brought condoms with them. Ultimately they all traveled with the intent to have sex with a male or female child.