Florida police just concluded a nine-day human trafficking sting that resulted in the arrest of more than 100 people, including four Disney employees and a retired judge.
The police dubbed their now infamous investigation as "Operation March Sadness 2." The project targeted online prostitution advertisements in hopes of locating trafficking victims who had been forced to engage in sexual activity for a profit. Thus, in order to nab the suspects, the Winter Haven Police Department strategically used undercover cops to engage with the suspects online.
Among the many predators taken down by the Winter Have Police Department were four Disney employees. Shubham Malave (27), Wilkason Fidele (24), Xavier Jackson (27), and Ralph Lesse (45) were all gainfully employed by The Walt Disney Company. Jackson worked as a lifeguard at the Polynesian Resort for Walt Disney; Fidele worked at the Cosmic Restaurant at Walt Disney World’s Tomorrowland; Malave, who is on visa citizenship from India, worked for Disney as a software developer; and Leese worked in IT for the company.
When Disney was contacted about the arrests by USA Today, the company's reps stated that Malve was not a part of their company while the three suspects had been placed on unpaid leave.
The three Disney workers weren't the only notable captures from this massive human trafficking sting as "Operation March Sadness 2" also led to the arrest of a former Illinois judge named Daniel Peters (65).
When addressing the local media about the 108 people who were arrested in the sting operation by his department, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd expressed relief, while also expressing the desire to continue to nab even more sex offenders in the future.
"The arrests of a human trafficker and four child predators alone makes this whole operation worthwhile," Judd said. "The online prostitution industry enables traffickers and victimizes those who are being trafficked. Our goal is to identify victims, offer them help, and find and arrest those who are profiting from the exploitation of human beings.”
Source: Yahoo! Entertainment
