Summary
- A Polk County operation produced 281 arrests, including 13 Disney employees and four Universal employees, the sheriff said.
- A former Mickey Mouse performer faces child-sex charges; seven theme-park workers were among the child-predator suspects.
- Disney fired the employees arrested in the sweep, according to Sheriff Grady Judd’s account of the company’s response.
A former performer accused of seeking a child
A former Walt Disney World performer who told investigators he had portrayed Mickey Mouse was among those arrested in Polk County’s October undercover operation targeting child exploitation and human trafficking.
Investigators identified him as Collin Klaco, 24, of Clermont. They alleged he communicated online with a detective posing as the guardian of a 13-year-old boy, described sexual conduct involving the child and traveled to an arranged meeting.
Klaco faces charges including traveling to meet a minor, using a computer to solicit a guardian and attempted lewd or lascivious battery. The allegations are criminal charges, not findings of guilt.
WKMG reported that Klaco told detectives he no longer worked for Disney when he was arrested. His former role therefore differs from the current employment reported for other suspects in the operation.
Theme-park employees appear in a wider sweep
Sheriff Grady Judd announced 281 arrests on October 30 after the seven-day operation, called Polk Around and Find Out II. He said the total included 13 Disney employees and four Universal employees.
The written sheriff’s release says seven of the 17 people reporting theme-park or resort employment were arrested in the child-predator part of the investigation. The broader Disney employment figure does not identify all 13 as child-predator suspects.
WKMG reported that Judd said Disney had fired the 13 employees. That description comes from the sheriff’s account of the company’s response. The reviewed reporting did not include a separate Disney statement explaining individual employment decisions.
The arrests involved people working in different roles. Investigators described one Disney employee arriving with part of his uniform and a company badge in his vehicle. The published allegations concern online communications and travel to undercover locations, rather than an identified incident involving a visitor inside a park.
Investigators also identified trafficking victims
Most arrests in the operation involved prostitution-related offenses. The sheriff’s office listed 239 in that category, 31 involving alleged child predators and 11 other arrests.
Investigators and social-service partners screened people accused of traveling to sell sex for signs of trafficking or exploitation. The sheriff’s office said 11 trafficking victims were identified and services were offered.
The sheriff urged parents to monitor children’s online activity and know the adults involved in their lives. The operation’s child-predator cases involved detectives posing online as children or their guardians before suspects traveled to meetings. The reported employment connections emerged during those investigations.
