Three popular Florida theme parks have been rocked by multiple arrests of child sex predators, putting a chilling focus on America’s favorite vacation destinations as frightening hunting grounds for pedophiles.
The creeps worked at Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World, and The National ENQUIRER can reveal several were respected community members with children of their own.
“I’m gonna go after them with a vengeance!” declared Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, whose department recently arrested 13 theme park employees for soliciting sex from minors. “We are going to continue to conduct these investigations to protect our children, but the theme parks need to help.” Now Judd is seeking help from U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, a former Disney lawyer who represents the district where the theme parks are located.
Ross has proposed the “Protecting Our Children Act,” which would allow the parks and businesses that cater to kids to polygraph current and prospective employees.
“We need to allow employers to find out who they’re hiring if they’re going to be dealing with children,” said Ross. “We owe it to the parents and the children to allow the employers to find out if these are people that are going to be predators.”
Since 2006, a stunning 35 Disney employees, five Universal and two Sea World employees have been arrested for sex crimes involving children. Of those, 32 have been convicted, according to court records.
One man arrested in the most recent sweep was a custodial manager at Disney’s Port Orleans resort, and a pastor at his local church. The sicko was caught downloading child pornography on a Disney computer while writing a sermon.
Another was a character actor – and husband and father – who made online arrangements to meet with who he thought was a 13-year-old boy.
The arrests “should signal to all of us that this is a real threat,” said Ernie Allen, president of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.
“These offenders will attempt to defeat the barriers that you put in place that deny them access to children.”
A statement released by Disney said, “providing a safe environment for children and families is a responsibility we take very seriously.”
The statement also pointed out that “the arrests represent one one-hundredth of one percent of the 300,000 people we have employed during this time period.”
But the parks offer ready access to children, and that attracts pedophiles seeking jobs, according to Judd and Ross.
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