A Disney World employee was among 12 men detained by Florida police for allegedly soliciting children for sex online, authorities said.
The suspects, ages 20 to 67, face a total of 49 felony charges following a two-week undercover investigation dubbed “Operation Child Protector II,” the Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday.
Among those arrested is Zachary Hudson, 30, who worked as a bus driver at Disney World, police said.
Between June 4 and 5, Hudson allegedly exchanged messages online with an undercover detective posing as a 15-year-old girl.
The detective asked Hudson if he had a problem with her being only 15, to which he replied as long as he “doesn’t mind that I’m older,” according to authorities. He reportedly later told her that “age is just a number.”
The conversation moved to text messages, where police say Hudson described sexual acts he wanted to perform on her. She also sent the girl a nude photo, police said.
“What would an operation be, whether it’s a porn investigation or a predatory operation or a human trafficking operation, without a Disney employee? We always have a Disney employee,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told WKMG-TV.
Police obtained a warrant for Hudson’s arrest and he was taken into custody in Orlando.
He appeared to be in his Disney World uniform when he was arrested, a mugshot obtained by the outlet shows.
He is charged with one count of using a two-way communication device to commit a felony and one count of transmitting material harmful to a minor and booked into the Orange County Jail.
