SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A Seminole County detective was arrested on Thursday after being accused of tipping off suspects during undercover investigations, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies said that Jose Tirado — a detective with the sheriff’s office’s Crimes Against Children Unit since 2015 — covertly warned suspects who were planning to travel to meet minors for sex during operations conducted between Dec. 2 and 3, 2022, and between Feb. 3 and 4, 2023.
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These “minors” were actually other detectives using undercover personas, so no real children were involved, a release from the sheriff’s office explains. However, Tirado’s warnings allowed suspects to avoid arrest and potentially put other detectives in harm’s way, deputies said.
Tirado was suspended on April 21 after the agency began a criminal investigation to look into his actions, the release shows.
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“You (Tirado) were responsible for investigating allegations of criminal child abuse, neglect and abandonment, and sexual-based offenses against minors, and investigating and apprehending those individuals who would travel to meet a minor for the purposes of sexual activity,” Sheriff Dennis Lemma said. “You were responsible for protecting the most vulnerable members of our society, our children, and the actions you are alleged to have committed instead aided those who would seek to victimize children by allowing them to avoid arrest and prosecution.”
Deputies said Tirado was later arrested and taken to the John E. Polk Correctional Facility on a bond of $65,000. He faces five counts of unlawful use of a two-way communication device, five counts of disclosure or use of confidential criminal justice information, and five counts of unlawful use of a computer, network or electronic device resulting in the interruption of governmental operation.
According to the release, Lemma immediately started the process to fire Tirado from the sheriff’s office upon his arrest.
Tirado on Friday pleaded not guilty to all charges, records show.
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