A Florida youth football head coach is one of 31 men arrested in a Polk County undercover sting targeting people who allegedly traveled to meet minors for sex, Sheriff Grady Judd announced Friday. Rashion Crayton, 31, coaches the Davenport Titans, a team of 11- to 14-year-olds in the Mid-Florida youth conference.
No actual child was involved. Investigators say Crayton believed he was arranging to meet a 14-year-old girl.
What officials say happened:
- Crayton allegedly told the person he thought was a 14-year-old that he would pick her up from school and have sex with her in his car, according to investigators.
- He arrived at the sting location carrying a battery-operated sex toy, lubricant, and other items in an Uber Eats bag, officials said.
- He was charged with traveling to meet a minor, use of a computer to secure a child, use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony, and attempted lewd and lascivious battery on a minor.
- Judd said 24 of the 31 suspects arrived armed, and 16 were in the country illegally and have been transferred to ICE custody.
- The sheriff said 13 of those arrested worked for Disney and four for Universal Studios. Disney has since fired all 13, according to the report.
- Judd has arrested 281 suspects in sex stings this year.
Judd described the suspects as eager child predators and defended the undercover operations as necessary. He also took a shot at the Uber Eats bag, wondering aloud what might have been inside the next one delivered to someone's door.
The Titans compete in a conference that covers middle-school-age players, which is why the arrest is landing in youth sports circles. The allegations against Crayton are unproven, and the charges are for conduct in a sting, not for anything alleged to involve a player. The case highlights why leagues and parents keep a close eye on who is given authority over kids.
The Titans and the Mid-Florida youth conference had not been reported as commenting at the time of the original report.
Source: Breitbart