POLK COUNTY, Fla. — More than 200 people face charges relating to a week-long, multi-agency human trafficking investigation in Polk County, Sheriff Grady Judd said Thursday.
Among those arrests, two people were charged with human trafficking. More than 20 people who were victims of human trafficking were found, as well, the sheriff's office said.
"Sometimes we work an entire operation without being able to identify the human trafficker because the ladies are scared to death of them," Judd said. "So we think it's a big deal that we actually were able to charge criminally two with human trafficking and two others are under investigation."
Several people face charges of soliciting a prostitute, including a Polk County School athletic director and coach identified as Russell Rodgers, and several people employed by Disney.
Rogers talked to 10 Tampa Bay on the phone Thursday. Rogers said he didn't want to comment on his arrest, but he did confirm he was a teacher at the REAL Academy. He explained it’s a school that works with kids two grade levels behind. He was hired in 2013.
Rogers is no longer is a teacher there after officials with the Polk County school district stated, they are disappointed and are in the process of terminating Rogers.
"We’re disappointed to learn that one of our employees was engaging in this kind of behavior," Polk County Schools said in a statement. "Part of being an educator is understanding that you are held to a higher standard for your actions in the classroom, as well as the community.
"These charges don’t involve students, and Rogers was not on duty as a teacher, but this kind of conduct still has no place in our school system."
Rogers taught for the district for a decade and earned just over 55,000 dollars. Sheriff Grady Judd explained he was also the athletic director for the Vanguard School. The head of the Vanguard School told 10 Tampa Bay Rogers served as their athletic director since 2017.
"This dude now is coaching in the county jail," Sheriff Grady Judd stated.
Sheriff Judd said Rogers coached several football teams. The now-former teacher and athletic director is a married man with kids. Sheriff Judd said he made that clear when he was booked into jail.
"He’s in custody and he says 'hey dude, you all have to hurry up,' and we go why, he said, 'well, it’s my wife and daughter,' what about them? 'They're arriving at the airport in Orlando and I have to go get them.' We said, hey coach, you fumbled that one."
Judd said 30-year-old Freddy Escalona, from Chicago, Illinois, was charged with human trafficking and deriving proceeds from prostitution. According to the sheriff's office, Escalona loaned a woman about $2,200 so she could fix her car.
To pay back the loan, Escalona reportedly made the woman prostitute herself while he took a majority of those earnings for himself. Judd said the amount of money Escalona got from the woman's exploitation far exceeded the amount he loaned her in the beginning.
When Escalona was arrested, detectives said he had "several females that he worked" who paid him to take them places and "keep them safe." Additional charges are pending as the investigation continues, the sheriff's office said.
A woman, 36-year-old Maria Guzman of Orlando, was also charged with human trafficking and deriving proceeds. According to Judd, Guzman trafficked two victims from an Orlando hotel. She reportedly set up their "dates" and profited from the money they earned.
Judd added two other people may soon also face human trafficking charges from this undercover operation, pending additional investigation.
In total, 219 people were arrested in connection to the undercover human trafficking operation. A total of 83 people were arrested for soliciting a prostitute and traveling to the undercover location for sex. Seventeen additional people were arrested and of those, five people were either profiting from prostitution or aiding and abetting prostitutes. Eight people drove prostitutes to the undercover location.
Judd added several children were also turned over to the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) during the investigation. Two women, arrested for prostitution, reportedly brought a 14-month-old baby with them to meet for paid sex. While one was having sex, the other would watch the baby, Judd said.
Another man arrested for solicitation reportedly left his 1-year-old at home in order to meet for sex. Judd said the man said the baby wasn't really alone because "the dog was watching the baby."
You can watch the full news conference by clicking here.