Five child victims located during Polk County undercover child porn sting
LAKELAND, Fla. - Undercover detectives in Polk County have been involved in an ongoing investigation focused on not just nabbing suspects who possess and share child pornography, but also finding victims. In the latest sting, the agency announced the arrest of 16 people.
Sheriff Grady Judd said detectives also located five victims of child pornography.
"They found child victims this time," he said Thursday morning. "We search for child victims in every one of these cases and it’s very rare to find one. And we found five."
The youngest suspect is 15 years old and the oldest is 68. During "Operation Guardians of Innocence VII," detectives arrested a former corrections officer with the Florida State Prison System, a Navy veteran, a Marine veteran, a Lakeland gun shop clerk, an unemployed man, a just-fired Hilton housekeeping manager, and men who created child porn with children they had access to.
Among those arrested were two Winter Haven friends who sexually battered three children, creating child pornography. The sheriff identified them as 32-year-old Harrison Egbert and 30-year-old David Lavin, Jr.
After receiving a tip, Polk County detectives executed a search warrant at Egbert's home and found thousands of videos and images of children – as young as 2 years old – being sexually battered. Then, they said he confessed to abusing three girls: ages 5, 7, and 8.
Judd said Egbert described himself as a "hoarder" of child porn.
"He liked to keep it around. In fact, we only charged him with 999 counts because the computer systems aren’t set up to take 1,000 criminal charges on one person," the sheriff explained, "but we have 3,000 more."
According to detectives, Egbert said he had help from his friend, Lavin, to capture photos and video of the sexual abuse. When they spoke to Lavin, officials said he admitted to his involvement, and said he brought of the victims to Egbert's home multiple times. Lavin also said he participated in the videos and images.
Lavin's wife, Ivonnette Leon, was arrested for trying to influence one of the child victims, telling the child to "never say a word," Sheriff Judd explained.
Then, he said, the case became even more "complicated."
During the investigation, the sheriff said one of those victims was located at the Kids Clubhouse Learning Center in Winter Haven. Detectives learned the daycare was unlicensed and operated by Shannon Speller.
"We located mom," Judd explained. "Mom went with the detectives to pick up the victim and guess what? We told Shannon Speller, ‘There is a criminal investigation underway. Do not say anything to anybody.’ But she did. She not only ran an illegal center, but as soon as we left, she started telling those she knew."
Word got back to Lavin, who "ran and hid," the sheriff said. However, Lavin was eventually arrested.
Sheriff Judd said there were roughly 40 children being supervised in the unlicensed daycare, which was shut down by the sheriff's office and the Florida Department of Children and Families.
"We have no information that any of the children were sexually abused, but if I was a parent… I would be concerned," he offered. "Parents, let me give you a piece of free advice here. Do you not check out and ensure that the daycare center…are legal? If you don’t, I suggest you start doing that because you put your children in the hands of somebody who was willing to tell the suspects that an investigation was underway."
The sheriff chose to highlight a few of the suspects during Thursday's press conference, including 33-year-old Patrick Johanson of Winter Haven. He previously worked for the Department of Corrections as a Correctional Officer at Polk Correctional Institute.
According to Judd, Johanson admitted he has been looking at child porn for a decade.
"The guy who is supposed to working the system to safely house prisoners admitted that he looked at child porn and he knew we would be there to arrest him? Well, now he is jail.," the sheriff said. "Our prayer is that we send him to the state prison to be an inmate where he once was a corrections officer."
Judd also said that Johanson admitted he would be sexually aroused when looking at the child porn but "felt bad afterward but he would still do it again."
"He’s a nasty man," Judd said.
Richard Sizelove, 68, who lives in Lake Wales, said he was looking at child pornography – some depicting children as young as 6-months-old – for about two decades, officials said.
"He said what really sexually arouses him are the toddlers," Judd said
Sizelove is a Navy veteran and served during the Vietnam War, according to the sheriff's office.
Sheriff Judd said another suspect, 52-year-old David Boyd, wore woman's underwear while watching child pornography, and used Photoshop to place an photo of his face onto one of the images "as being the one receiving the sex."
"This guy is extra, extra, extra, extra nuts," Judd said. "This kind of person needs to be in jail for a long time."
Another suspect, 22-year-old Tyerek Lampkin, was unemployed and living with his mother, grandmother and aunt in Lakeland. Judd said Lampkin told detectives that he was saving the child porn imagery "so he can turn it over to law enforcement."
"He was trading child porn and then he said the reason he was trading was to raise awareness," the sheriff said. "This guy actually told us that. Well, we hope that he has that same story for the jury."
In total, all suspects face more than 2,770 felony charges.
The following information on each suspect was provided by the Polk County Sheriff's Office
Harrison Egbert is charged with:
- Enhanced* Possession of Child Pornography (1,000 counts) (F2)
- Promotion of Child Pornography (1 count) (F2)
- Possess to Promote Child Pornography (1 count) (F2)
- Capital Sexual Battery (5 counts) (FC)
- Use of a Child in a Sexual Performance (5 counts) (F2)
- Lewd Molestation (5 counts) (FL)
Egbert told detectives he worked as a clerk at Leadfeather Guns and Ammo in Winter Haven, and he is a veteran of the Marine Corps.
David Lavin, Jr. is charged with
- Capital Sexual Battery (FC)
- Use of a Child in a Sexual Performance (2 counts) (F2)
- Promoting Sexual Performance by a Child (1 count) (F2)
- Lewd Exhibition (1 count) (F2)
Lavin's prior criminal history includes 1 felony and 6 misdemeanors for Domestic Violence Battery, Possession of Marijuana, Failure to Appear, Knowingly Driving on a Suspended License, and Violation of Probation.
Ivonnette Leon is charged with
- Tampering with a Victim (LF)
- Accessory after the Fact (F3)
- Contributing to the Dependency of a Minor (M1)
Shannon Speller is charged with
- Accessory after the Fact (F3)
Others arrested during the operation are as follows (in alphabetical order):
David Boyd, 52, from Lakeland. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Boyd's electronic devices and located images of children as young as 6-months old being sexually battered, some of which Boyd had photoshopped himself into. Boyd told detectives he worked for South Florida Gun and Pawn as a clerk. Boyd is charged with 516 counts of Enhanced* Possession of Child Pornography (F2) and one count of Promotion of Child Pornography (F2).
Jonathan Derisse, 20, from Davenport. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Derisse's phone and located images of children as young as 8-years old being sexually battered. Derisse told detective he was currently unemployed, but he had previously worked a summer job at Sea World. Derisse is charged with 6 counts of Possession of Child Pornography (F3) and 3 counts of Promotion of Child Pornography (F2). His prior criminal history includes 3 felonies for Written threats and a Bomb Threat.
Jesse Durant, 29, from Davenport. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Durant’s cell phone and located images of children as young as 6-months old being sexually battered. Durant told detectives he works for Hilton Vacations as an overnight maintenance supervisor. Durant is charged with 45 counts of Enhanced Possession of Child Pornography (F2).
Ashton Howard, 17, Lakeland. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Howard's electronic devices and located video files of children as young as 10-years old being sexually battered. Howard admitted to detectives that he uses his cell phone to send child pornography through SnapChat. Howard is charged with two counts of Promotion of Child Pornography (F2) and Violation of Probation (F3). Howard is currently on juvenile probation for Written Threats to Kill or Do Bodily Harm. His prior criminal history includes 3 felonies for Written Threats, Possession of a Controlled Substance without a Prescription, and Violation of Probation.
Patrick Johanson, 33, from Winter Haven. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Johanson's electronic devices and located images of children being sexually battered, some as young as 6-months old. Johanson told detectives has viewed and shared child pornography on Facebook Messenger. Johanson also told detectives he worked for the Department of Corrections as a Correctional Officer at Polk Correctional Institute. He is charged with 26 counts of Enhanced* Possession of Child Pornography (F2) and one count of Promotion of Child Pornography (F2).
Tyerek Lampkin, 22, from Lakeland. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Lampkin's electronic devices and located video files of children as young as 12-years old being sexually battered. Tyerek admitted to detectives that he uses his cell phone to view and trade child pornography. Tyerek is charged with 197 counts of Enhanced* Possession of Child Pornography (F2) and 12 counts of Promotion of Child Pornography (F2).
Ludjy Masson-Santana, 21, from Kissimmee. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Masson-Santana's electronic devices and located images and video files, that had been sent through Kik, of children as young as 4-years old being sexually battered. Masson-Santana told detectives he was is a housekeeping manager at Hilton Orlando in Lake Buena Vista. Masson-Santana is charged with 148 counts of Enhanced* Possession of Child Pornography (F2) and 12 counts of Promotion of Child Pornography (F2).
Daniel Millan, 16, from Lakeland. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Millan's electronic devices and located images and video files of children as young as 12-months old being sexually battered. Millan admitted to deputies that he traded child pornography online. Millan is charged with 50 counts of Enhanced* Possession of Child Pornography (F2) and two counts of Promotion of Child Pornography (F2).
Nicholas Nason, 27, from Lakeland. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Nason's electronic devices and located images and video files of children as young as 5-years old being sexually battered. Nason is charged with 14 counts of Enhanced* Possession of Child Pornography (F2).
David Oyunjargal, 15, from Winter Haven. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Oyunjargal's electronic devices and located video files of children as young as 2-years old being sexually battered. Oyunjargal is charged with one count of Promotion of Child Pornography (F2) and two counts of Possession of Child Pornography (F3).
Jonathan Ramos, 31, from Davenport. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Ramos's electronic devices and located images and video files of children as young as 4-years old being sexually battered. Ramos told detectives he worked in the Deli Department at the Davenport Publix. Ramos is charged with 670 counts of Enhanced* Possession of Child Pornography (F2).
Kevin Schmidt, 54, from Lakeland. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Schmidt's electronic devices and located video files of children as young as 7-years old being sexually battered. Schmidt told detectives he worked as a floor coating installer for Tru-Grit in Lakeland. Schmidt is charged with 32 counts of Promotion of Child Pornography (F2) and one count of Possession of Child Pornography (F3). His prior criminal history includes 5 felonies and 11 misdemeanors for Battery, Disorderly Conduct, Dealing in Stolen Property, Failure to Appear, DUI, Driving with a Suspended License, Criminal Mischief, and Violation of Probation.
Richard Sizelove, 68, from Lake Wales. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Sizelove's electronic devices and located images of children as young as 6-months old being sexually battered. Sizelove told detectives he he has been viewing child pornography for approximately 20 years. He also told detectives he worked as the manager at the Bullock RV Park in Lake Wales, and that he was a Navy veteran who served during the Vietnam War. Sizelove is charged with 28 counts of Enhanced* Possession of Child Pornography (F2). His prior criminal history includes 18 felonies and one misdemeanor for Vehicle Theft, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Grand Theft Dealing in Stolen Property, and multiple Violations of Probation.
Guadalupe Villanueva, 15, from Lakeland. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Villanueva's cell phone and located images of children between the ages of 4 and 6-years old being sexually battered. Villanueva is a student at Mulberry High School. Villanueva is charged with 4 counts of Possession of Child Pornography (F3) and one count of Promotion of Child Pornography (F2).
Note: This article has been updated to correct or remove information previously reported by the sheriff’s office.