Polk County Prostitution Sting Results in Arrests
According to the Polk County sheriff’s office, Tiffany Nash, 32, was arrested for human trafficking another woman. According to deputies, Nash threatened the adult woman with violence if she did not prostitute herself.
Nash is also said to have demanded the woman’s whole prostitution earnings, and has been arrested and charged with human trafficking, prostitution proceeds, cocaine, methamphetamine possession, and drug paraphernalia possession.
Sheriff Grady Judd, in a press conference on Wednesday, said Nash was previously the manager of a KFC in Orlando.
“I’m not sure I’d want any finger-licking excellent chicken she touched now,” Judd quipped. According to a spokesperson for the fast-food business, Nash’s work with KFC ended in 2018: “She did not hold a managerial position during her work.”
According to the sheriff’s office, Selah Freedom of Sarasota assisted the victimized woman during what was known as “Operation March Sadness 2” – a multi-law enforcement agency undercover investigation focused on human trafficking, prostitution, and child predators. Four child predators were among those arrested in the six-day operation, according to Judd.
Deputies say Timothy Finley, 39, thought he was talking to a 13-year-old girl online. He allegedly sent a nude photo during their discussion and then went to the alleged 13-year-old’s house to have sex with her. Polk County deputies apprehended him instead. Some of the allegations he faces includes traveling to meet a minor who was using a computer to attract, attempted lewd battery, possession of methamphetamine, resisting arrest, and transferring material harmful to a child.
Also arrested was Shannon Johnson, 41, who thought he was conversing online with a 13-year-old, prompting him to email a nude photo and go to her home for sex, according to the information given by the sheriff’s office. Deputies took him into custody as well. His criminal allegations include traveling to meet a juvenile, using a computer to seduce, attempted lewd battery, and transmission of material detrimental to a minor.
In all, there were over 100 arrests in this sting, with charges that ranged from prostitution and solicitation, to transmitting lewd materials to a minor and assault with a deadly weapon. One of the arrestees even works as a lifeguard at Disney World.
Another notable arrest made during the operation, according to Judd, was that of an Illinois retired judge. Daniel Peters, 66, informed detectives he was a former judge in Cook County and had worked for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois as a special assistant for legal affairs. He has been accused of soliciting a prostitute.
