POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A North Carolina man, on his way to a birthday party in Florida, finds himself behind bars after attempting to pay for sex with a child.
37-year-old Edmundo Dasilva of Holly Springs, North Carolina, sent a social media message in response to an ad posted online by an undercover detective.
He communicated with an adult who had access to a child and expressed his desire to pay $60.00 to perform sex acts on the child.
Read: Polk County Sheriff Charges 8 Suspects With Child Sex Crimes, Dunedin Man Wanted
DaSilva said he would be traveling through Florida and would like to meet, and he had just turned 18 years old.
Dasilva traveled to the undercover location and was arrested. He had two condoms in his pocket. He told detectives that he is married and that he works for Homeland Security as a Transportation Security Officer.
“He’s 36, and he’s from North Carolina. He’s married and he is a TSA screener. That’s right. You know, the guy that you got to go through the line at the airports, this is him at Raleigh Durham International Airport,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd Tuesday at a press conference. “This is who the federal government trusts to screen you. Makes you wonder when they want to do extra screening on children, doesn’t it?”
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Law enforcement officials charged eight suspects total with crimes related to those who prey upon and travel to meet children for unlawful sexual activity during an eight-day undercover investigation from February 22–29, 2024, dubbed “Operation Child Predator V.”
The suspects communicated with and solicited who they thought were children or adults who had access to children online, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
Dasilva was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
- Human trafficking (FL)
- Use of computer to solicit guardian (F2)
- Traveling to meet a minor (F3)
- Use of two-way communication device to commit a felony (F3)
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