Sting

Almost every morning for the last week I have been awakened by a bird, possibly a house wren I think, who repeatedly bangs into the window at the foot of my bed. Sometimes he'll sit on the sill and peck at it. He'll keep pecking and flying into the window for at least an hour. I don't know how he doesn't knock himself unconscious. I lay there in bed wanting to take advantage of the rest of my alloted time for sleep trying to figure out a way to kill the little devil. That would probably not be very environmentally sensitive, though it would certainly improve my environment. There must not be many of his species around these parts as it seems that his own reflection is his best hope of mating. Or maybe he's jealous and trying to run the other guy off. Either way, testosterone run amok can get a guy into some very self destructive situations.

I spent Thursday and Friday of last week working for Fox 13 Tampa at a sting set up by the Polk County Sheriff's Department. A task force of undercover officers from Polk County as well as the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement, Plant City P.D., and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement had been trolling in chat rooms for the last week posing as young girls and boys and had been talking to a number of sexual predators. An agent would offer the invitation to come over to the house and when the perp got there, he was greeted by a bunch of burly guys with bullet proof vests and guns. And TV cameras from five stations. They were mirandized and then offered a chance to speak to us. Most didn't. One did.

These guys were all charged with at least three different felonies the maximum sentences for which were recently increased from five years to fifteen years. Depending on what they did online, there could be many counts of each charge. Certain types of photos they might upload are one count for each. Bail would be $20,000.00 for each count. If they bond out until their trial, they are not allowed to have a computer and cannot have any contact with anyone under 18. If there are children in their house, either they or the children have to move out. The computer used in the crime is seized as evidence. A team of officers goes after it right after the arrest. I heard one officer having a phone conversation with a perp's mother about how her computer was going to be taken away. She used it for her work. Too bad. This gets very inconvenient for a lot of people. The car used to “travel” to the house has also been used in a crime and can be confiscated. This rarely happens, though, because most of the time there is a loan on the car and that makes it more trouble than it's worth.

The press was allowed inside the house the first two of the four days. The first day I had to jostle with four other camera guys but the second day I was the only camera there. By the time I left the second day they had arrested ten men. They did a similar sting a year ago and netted 20 in four days. At the end of the four days this year they had 28 arrests. They had talked to 250 people online. Last year they hit the chat rooms for four weeks before the house was ready for what they call the “travelers.” They learned that these guys were so eager they didn't need nearly that much time. This time they only started a week before the actual sting.

I didn't get to shoot the initial surprise or the take downs outside as we had to stay hidden inside. There were surveillance cameras that caught this but I don't know if FOX has taken up the Sheriff's dept. on the offer to get the footage. We were able to shoot them being brought through the front door of the house and through the living room toward us. It was kinda strange to be standing there with my camera in the face of guys who probably weren't even thinking about committing a crime when they woke up that morning. They were out for what they considered some fun and next thing they are looking at possibly the next fifteen years of their life in a federal prison where they will probably learn more about sexual deviancy than even they bargained for. The first guy busted had a wife and kids at home. One guy was nineteen. One seventeen. The oldest was fifty five. Three were Disney employees. Another worked at a Boys and Girls Club. I was glad they were off the street and no longer a danger to young kids, but I couldn't help but feel bad for the pain they must have experienced to drive them to such things. I was imagining that every one of them no doubt had a very sad story that went back a long way. And it will get far sadder in the coming days.

It seems crazy that with all the publicity about similar stings on Dateline and such these guys will still do this. At least one guy told a deputy that he expected this was going to be a sting but he came anyway. In an interview the sheriff said that they have found that these guys are so driven that all logic just goes out the window.

The shooting was interesting but the part I found the most fascinating was just hanging out with the officers and finding out about their work and how they did what they did and how they worked together. I came away extremely impressed by the professionalism and dedication of these officers, some of them very young, some veterans of more than twenty years. This team from Polk County has been recognized as the best in the state at what they do. I came away feeling very proud of all of them and grateful for their service to the community. Who can tell how many kids these folks are saving from a lifetime of trauma.

The operation went on until midnight last night so all the information and images were by agreement of all media with the sheriff embargoed until 5:00am this morning. The story may well hit FOX News nationally so if you are reading this in time, you might catch the story on TV today. It's possible one of the other networks may pick it up from another Tampa affiliate station. If so, it won't be my footage but it should all look pretty much the same.

As I've been getting this ready to post I've been watching FOX and just saw the story run.

Here is an article from today's on-line edition of the "The Ledger" from Lakeland, FL.