News and Investigations

On Tuesday, March 27, 2018, PCSO deputies apprehended 23-year-old Jonathan Diaz Fundora of 7370 South Waterway Drive in Miami, shortly after he kidnapped a 10-year-old Polk County girl whom he met and groomed online then took her to a motel in Lakeland, where he sexually battered her.  

So far he has been charged with: 

·         Kidnapping (Life Felony)

·         Sexual Battery by a Suspect over 18 on a Victim under 12 (Capital Felony)

·         Traveling to Meet a Minor (F-2)

·         5 counts Possession of Child Pornography (F-3)

·         3 counts Directing the Sexual Performance of a Child (F-2)

·         2 counts Use of a Computer to Seduce a Child (F-3) 

According to the affidavit, approximately six weeks ago, Fundora met the victim on an online app. He also chatted with her on Facebook, and via text message. Fundora’s Facebook profile name is “El Yoni King Diaz (Chojo Akimichi)” and he is a Burger King manager. Fundora groomed the victim online, directing her to perform sex acts and send him photos and videos. He then arranged to travel to Polk County to be with her. 

Fundora took three days off work, and drove to Lakeland on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, and arranged to meet the victim at the end of the road where she lives. The victim left a note for her parent that she was going to stay at a friend’s house for three days. As soon as the parent found the note and realized the victim was gone, the parent immediately called to report the child missing. 

Within 35 minutes of receiving the 9-1-1 call, PCSO deputies had identified the suspect and the vehicle he drives via the suspect’s Facebook page and spotted the car parked at a Motel 6 in Lakeland. They found which room the suspect had checked into, and immediately responded to the room. The suspect was taken into custody, and the little girl was found hiding in the bathroom. Both the victim and the suspect told detectives they had engaged in sexual intercourse. A sexual assault kit confirmed the sexual abuse. 

“This suspect groomed and manipulated a little girl online and then traveled all the way to Polk County to sexually abuse her – he is the poster child for why it is critical that parents monitor their children’s activities online. I commend our patrol deputies for catching him in the act of sexually abusing a child, and I shudder to think of what the other horrible consequences would have been had her parent not immediately reported her missing. We will do everything in our power to ensure he spends the rest of his life behind bars.”– Grady Judd, Sheriff 

A preliminary review of the suspect’s electronic devices showed he had photos and videos sent to him by the victim that he directed her to create of herself, depicting sex acts, and he was charged accordingly. Further charges are pending a full forensic analysis of all his devices. He was arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail on the above-mentioned charges, and will have a first appearance hearing at 1:00 p.m. this afternoon.