News and Investigations

On Monday, December 21, 2020, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office concluded a month-long special operation to identify members of the community who possessed and shared child pornography. The operation, called “Operation Guardians of the Innocence VI,” was carried out by undercover detectives from PCSO’s Computer Crimes Unit, and resulted in the arrests of 13 people.
 
“We are committed to protecting our children from those who possess and distribute child pornography. The men arrested in this operation create a market for these kinds of horrific images that are dependent upon the continued sexual abuse and rape of babies and children worldwide. Each time these images and videos are uploaded and shared these children are victimized again and again. I appreciate the hard work our detectives did that was necessary to file these charges." – Grady Judd, Sheriff
 
The youngest person arrested was 20-years-old, while the oldest was 47-years-old.
 
At the time of arrest, detectives seized all known electronic communications devices belonging to the suspects, with forensic searches of those devices to follow. Those searches could turn up additional images and/or videos depicting child pornography, and the suspects would be additionally charged as needed. Attempts are also made to identify the children in various images and videos.
 
The 13 men arrested face a total of 2,353 charges (2,347 felonies, 6 misdemeanors).
 
Those arrested are as follows (in alphabetical order):
 
Shaun David Bonacci, 43, from Davenport. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Bonacci’s cell phone and located images of boys between the ages of 10 and 12-years old being sexually battered. Bonacci told detectives he emailed the photos to another unknown individual. He told detectives he is a former Air Force mechanic. Bonacci was charged with Promoting Child Pornography (F2) and Possession of Child Pornography (F3).
 
Henry Dunn, 47, from Winter Haven. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Dunn’s electronic devices and located images and videos of children between the ages of 5 and 11-years old being sexually battered. Detectives also discovered child pornography images which Dunn had uploaded to Facebook. Dunn was charged with 40 counts of Enhanced Possession of Child Pornography (F2), Promotion of Child Pornography (F2), Possession of Marijuana (M1), and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (M1).
 
Jonathan Godwin, 20, from Winter Haven. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Godwin’s electronic devices and located videos of children between the ages of 5 and 11-years old being sexually battered. Godwin told detectives he sometimes shared videos in chat groups on the KIK application. He was charged with 4 counts of Possession of Child Pornography (F3) and 1 count of Promotion of Child Pornography (F2).
 
Silas Toussaint Harris, 27, from Lakeland. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Harris’s electronic devices and located hundreds of videos of children being sexually battered, some as young as 12-months old. Harris told detectives has viewed and shared child pornography on Twitter. Harris told detectives he works as a stockman for Walmart and is the assistant coach for the Lakeland Destroyers little league football team. He was charged with 662 counts of Enhanced Possession of Child Pornography (F2). 
 
Christian Martinez-Rivera, 30, from Haines City. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Martinez-Rivera’s cell phone and located images of children between the ages of 3 and 6-years old being sexually battered. He told detectives he is employed as a FedEx driver. Martinez-Rivera was charged with 2 counts of Possession of Child Pornography (F3).
 
Clifford Wayne Rogers, 40, from Bartow. While executing a search warrant at Rogers’ residence, detectives located a tablet that contained 212 images of children being sexually battered, some as young as 1 to 3-years old. Detectives also located marijuana in Rogers’ vehicle. He told detectives he was employed with Payne Heating and Cooling as a service technician. He was charged with 212 counts of Enhanced Possession of Child Pornography (F2), Possession of Marijuana (M1), and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (M1). His criminal history includes a DUI and Bomb Threat.
 
Robert Thomas Schank, 47, from Davenport. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Schank’s electronic devices and located videos of children as young as 2-years old being sexually battered. Schank told detectives he had shared these videos in chat groups on the KIK application. Schank told detectives he is the manager of a Bed Bath and Beyond store in Kissimmee. He was charged with 36 counts of Enhanced Possession of Child Pornography (F2).
 
Eugene Skaggs, Jr., 28, from Polk City. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Skaggs’ residence and seized 2 cell phones, two computers, a tablet, two smart watches, and storage devices. During an interview, Skaggs told detectives that he started to look at child pornography out of curiosity, and then he started sharing and trading images and videos of children as young as 12-months old being sexually battered. He also told detectives he is employed with Watson Clinic. Skaggs is charged with Promotion of Child Pornography (F2), Possession of Marijuana (M1), and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (M1).
 
Michael Tateishi, 47, from Lakeland. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Tateshi’s electronic devices and located hundreds of pornographic (or nude) videos and images of children as young as 8-12 months old. Tateshi told detectives he is employed as an UBER driver, and is a retired Air Force Master Sergeant. He was charged with 450 counts of Enhanced Possession of Child Pornography (F2), Possession of Cocaine (F3), Possession of a Structure to Manufacture Drugs (F2), Cultivation of Marijuana (F3), and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (M1).
 
Joquin Trejo, 44, from Bartow. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Trejo’s cell phone and located images and video files of children as young as 3-months old being sexually battered. He told detectives he is currently unemployed. Trejo is charged with 83 counts of Enhanced Possession of Child Pornography (F2).
 
Kevin Scott Woods, 39, from Polk City. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Woods’ cell phone and located pornographic (or nude) images of children as young as 6-years old. Scott told detectives he receives $1450 a month from Social Security Disability Benefits. Scott was charged with 35 counts of Enhanced Possession of Child Pornography (F2). His criminal history includes Aggravated Domestic Assault, Assault, Grand Theft, Petit Theft, and Possession of Marijuana.
 
Eddy Zumeta, Jr., 32, from Winter Haven. Following up on a tip, detectives searched Zumeta’s electronic devices and located images of children between the ages of 8 and 11-years old being sexually battered. During the investigation, detectives discovered Zumeta also advertised online child pornography from his apartment. Zumeta told detectives he works as a lifeguard at Shades of Green Resort. He was charged with 20 counts of Enhanced Possession of Child Pornography (F2) and 1 count of Promotion of Child Pornography (F2).
 
As previously reported on November 21, 2020 Detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested 46-year-old Shawn Fitzgerald, a Lakeland High School teacher on Friday, November 20, 2020 and charged him with 408 counts of possessing child pornography (F2). Fitzgerald, a Lakeland resident, at the time of his arrest was the varsity soccer coach for Lakeland High School and a Youth Director at First United Methodist Church in Bartow. Click here to read the previously sent news release. On November 25, 2020, following a forensic search of Fitzgerald’s electronic devices, detectives located another 389 images and videos of children as young as 12 months old being sexually battered. Fitzgerald has been charged with an additional 389 counts of Enhanced Possession of Child Pornography (F2). He remains in jail on a $3,985,000 bond ($5,000 per charge).