SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — After 9 Investigates exposed dangerous smartphone apps used by predators, Seminole County agents arrested two men they said traveled to meet underage girls for sex after meeting them online.
Deputies told Channel 9's Karla Ray they used chat rooms, messaging apps and phone calls in their three-day sting.
Authorities said one of the suspects was actually talking to two undercover agents at the same time.
Authorities said both agents were sitting in a room in the Sheriff's Office talking to the same man, who asked one of them if it was a setup. They said he still traveled to meet what he thought was a minor anyway.
Using Backpage, Craigslist, chat rooms and apps like KIK, investigators with the Sheriff's Office spent the weekend searching for predators online.
"We were targeting people who were willing to meet a minor for sex," said spokeswoman Kim Cannaday.
Within hours of posting ads and starting conversations, two people were arrested, including 29-year-old David Lugo Jusino.
Investigators said Jusino left his job at a call center to go on a dinner break. Instead, he intended to meet a young girl for sex.
In email, Jusino allegedly told the agent, "I'm not planning to prego you, sooo it will be fine."
Some of the conversations were extremely graphic so there was no doubt in the investigator's mind what the intention was of the individual when they did show up, authorities said.
One of the men thought he was meeting a 14-year-old girl at a Sunoco gas station.
Another suspect, Albert Garcia, was caught in a parking lot after deputies said he communicated with two agents both posing as kids.
Channel 9 was there for Garcia's first appearance in front of a judge. In his chats with deputies, Garcia allegedly wrote, "Are you a cop? Is this a setup to get me arrested?"
Authorities said the bust was smaller than years past, where they sometimes had 10-day operations.