VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Volusia County deputies arrested 13 men in an internet predator operation after they exchanged explicit messages and traveled to meet with officers they believed were children, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office said the men arrested are electricians, NASA contractors and even a man on vacation here with his family.
"They know they are dealing with our children," said Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson.
Now, more than a dozen men are facing a slew of charges thanks to Operation Kiss, which stands for Keeping Innocence Safe During Summer.
"These people are predators and they know how to talk to children," said Johnson.
Investigators said the men exchanged sexually explicit messages with who they thought were 12-14 year old girls and boy and traveled to meet them. However, they got law enforcement instead.
Timothy Carl Tate, 40, from Virginia is on vacation in Daytona Beach, but deputies said he was out to meet a 14-year-old girl, while his family stayed in the hotel.
Forty-eighty-year-old Anthony Onesi, a NASA contractor from Virginia, was staying in Brevard County for work. Deputies said he rented a car from Cape Canaveral and drove an hour and a half to meet up with a 14-year-old girl.
Deputies said the rest are from Central Florida, including 28-year-old Benjerman Roy, of Orlando, who fled before getting arrested, but turned himself in on Tuesday.
"He might as well turn himself in, because we're going to catch him," said Sheriff Johnson.
Investigators said the joint agency operation was a success and should be a wake up call for parents.
"We need the parents to start being more involved with their children to see what's going on, on these computers," said Sheriff Johnson.
One other suspect has a warrant out for his arrest after he fled from deputies.
The deputies posed online as children 14 years old and younger while using social media sites, emails and text messages to catch the alleged predators.
According to deputies, some of the defendants arrived at the meeting place with drugs and others brought condoms, but each of them expressed a clear desire to have sex with the young boy or girl he believed he was meeting.
The defendants, along with their ages, dates of birth, cities of residence, and, if available, occupations, are:
Richard J. Preira, 40, Daytona Beach
Joshua Ellich, 23, Deltona
Timothy Carl Tate, 40, Bumpass, Virginia, self-employed
Anthony Onesi, 48, Lovettsville, Virginia, NASA contractor
Nathan E. Daniels, 32, St. Augustine
Jeffrey Goerke, 32, Titusville, construction worker
Nathaniel J. Whiting, 37, DeLand
Maxmillion V. Littman, 23, New Smyrna Beach, pizza restaurant employee
Tyrik Williams, 18, Cocoa
Javon A. Douglas, 20, Altamonte Springs, telemarketer
Jacob Smoot, 19, Ormond Beach, electrician apprentice
David Jaco, 61, Ormond Beach, dental office operations manager
Michael Jackson, 26, Daytona Beach, auto/motorcycle repair
Benjerman Roy, 28, from Orlando.
Each of the defendants faces charges of attempted lewd or lascivious battery, using a computer to seduce/solicit/lure/entice a child, traveling to meet a minor to engage in unlawful sexual conduct and use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony.