Anna Newhoff
NCR Reporter
A total of 23 deviants were busted during a multi-state child predator sting.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference March 27 about its multi-phase operation targeting sexual predators. The sting, dubbed Operation Deviant Nightfall, and its follow-up phase, Deviant Sunrise, resulted in arrests across Florida and Georgia.
“These individuals we arrested represent the worst in our society to prey on our children,” said Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper. “These suspects need to be in jail and that’s where we put them.”
The operation began Jan. 15, with undercover detectives posing as 13 and 14-year-old children in online chat rooms and via several apps. Operation Deviant Nightfall lasted four days and led to 16 arrests. The follow-up phase, Deviant Sunrise, led to seven additional arrests over the span of two months.
The key distinction between the two phases is that suspects arrested during Deviant Nightfall physically attempted to meet the undercover officers at a designated location in Yulee. Those apprehended in Deviant Sunrise engaged in explicit conversations with the undercover officers but never attempted to meet up.
Three notable arrests from the operation include Harrison “Ted” Clark, 30, from Orange Park, who was a former Clay County elected official; and Willie Wright, 40, from Green Cove Springs, who is a registered sex offender and church pastor. Wright brought his 3-year-old child to meet with who he believed was a 14-year-old girl. Leeper noted he may have drugged the child so he would asleep during Wright’s interaction with the supposed teenager. Carl Eubanks, 49, of Middleburg is a Black Hawk helicopter pilot who has additional charges in Clay County for having sexual contact with a minor.
Others arrested during Operation Deviant Nightfall include Christian Tillman, 25, and Randal Warn, 44, of Orange Park; Michael Brown, 28, and Hector Villatoro, 65, of Yulee; Nicholas Smith, 19, of Hilliard; Garrin Hegler, 63, of Fernandina Beach; Thomas Brown, 44, of Middleburg; Abdul Mahbobi, 33, Nicholas Chick, 35, Isaiah Jordan, 25, Dale Grogan, 59, and Carlos Hudson, 32, all from Jacksonville; and Allen Morgan, 53, from Brookha-ven, Miss.
Arrested during Operation Deviant Sunrise were Harry Schopp, 58, of Bryceville; Bruce Roberts, 35, and Julius Fagge, II, 64, of Jacksonville; James Griffin, 54, of Crescent City; Darion Williams, 33, of Valdosta, Ga.; Kevin Lynch, 40, of Maysville, Ga.; and Javier Serrano, 29, an illegal immigrant from Honduras.
Those arrested have been published within the Nassau County Record arrest report in the last three months, with all charges listed.
During the press conference, Leeper shared that warrants are outstanding for several additional suspects, though their names were withheld to facilitate arrests.
“Just know that wherever you are, if you’ve been talking nasty and sending filthy pictures to what you thought was a child, we are after you,” Leeper said. “If we didn’t get you this time, we will get you next time.”
During the press conference, Leeper emphasized the importance of parents staying aware of their children’s online activity.
“In order to stop this, we need parents to quit being in denial that their child would never think about doing something like this,” Leeper said. “Parents have to understand that the first line of defense is at home. They have to know what their kids are doing online.”
Leeper advised parents to monitor their children’s internet activity and be aware of who they are communicating with online.
Along with the NCSO, the operation was a collective effort between multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Lake City and Fernandina Beach police departments, and the Clay, St. Johns, and Jacksonville sheriff’s offices.