A large-scale investigation that was launched last year has led to the arrest of 14 people for a total of 541 felony charges related to child porn, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) announced Friday.
The operation, later named "One Way Ticket," began in July of 2020. Members of the MCSO's Internet Crime Against Children task force issued over 200 subpoenas and 26 search warrants in order to search 100 individual devices.
17,000 suspected images of child porn were discovered on the devices, which led to "541 felony arrest warrants for the 14 listed suspects under the listed case numbers," a press release from the sheriff's office read.
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One of the suspects, Walter Huddleston, was arrested after he reached out to an undercover federal agent posing as a minor. He was arrested for local charges, with federal charges pending.
SWAT deputies arrested two more of the suspects, Michael Blackmore and Edwin Aguirre-Pineda. The arrests "occurred without incident," the press release noted.
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A fourth suspect, Christopher Schwartz, had reportedly fled the area after the search warrant of his residence, and detectives were able to discover that he was somewhere around Fort Meyers.
Lee County Sheriff's Office officers assisted in the search. He was eventually located driving over a bridge. He was taken into custody for 50 felony charges.
The remaining ten suspects were all "taken into custody without incident," Martin County Sheriff's Office said.
