News and Investigations

Throughout the month of May 2018, Polk County Sheriff's Computer Crimes detectives served search warrants and made 11 arrests during "Operation Guardians of Innocence II" which focused on identifying and arresting those involved in the possession, promotion, and distribution of child pornography. A total of 660 felony charges were filed against the suspects, with more charges pending.

"As you know, this is just the beginning - once we serve search warrants and seize the devices that these suspects are using to download and distribute pornography, we will do a complete forensic analysis, and in all likelihood we will be adding on more charges related to the felony possession and distribution of images and videos of children being sexually battered. Most of the images we saw during this investigation depicted children being sexually battered, that we have seen before - which means we haven't yet identified any local child victims, but as always, that is also a part of our investigation." -

Grady Judd, Sheriff

A search warrant was executed at 126 Grantham Drive in Davenport, where 48-year-old Edward Zaborowski III lives. Detectives received a tip that child pornography files were being advertised by a computer user at that address. Detectives responded to the home and talked with Zaborowski, who admitted that the computer equipment was his. During an initial preview of the equipment, detectives located files depicting child pornography with victims as young as 4 to 6 years old. They seized the equipment for further analysis. Zaborowski told detectives he searches for and downloads child pornography, and has done so for the past two years. He told detectives he is a bartender in Osceola County, and a parent helper and driver for his son's Boy Scout Troop. He was taken into custody without incident and charged with:

• 64 counts possession of child pornography - enhanced (F-2)
• 1 count promotion of sexual performance by a child (F-2)

A search warrant was executed at 3518 Sutton Hills Drive North in Lakeland, where 64-year-old Richard Cousins lives. Detectives received a tip that child pornography files were being downloaded by a computer user at that address. Detectives responded to the home and, during an initial preview of the equipment, located files depicting child pornography with victims as young as 8 to 10 years old. He told detectives he is married. They seized the equipment for further analysis. Cousins was taken into custody without incident and charged with:

• 143 counts possession of child pornography - enhanced (F-2)
• 3 counts promotion of sexual performance by a child (F-2) 

COUSINS CRIMINAL HISTORY: Cousins is a registered sex offender. He was arrested in 1992 in Maine for sexual assault on two male victims under 13 years of age, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison for each victim (4 years total); his sentence was reduced to one year in prison, and 4 years' probation.

A search warrant was executed at 103 Brighton Way in Auburndale, where 51-year-old Bruce Nopper lives. Detectives received a tip that child pornography files were being advertised by a computer user at that address. Detectives responded to the home and talked with Nopper, who admitted that the computer equipment was his and that he is addicted to viewing child pornography. During an initial preview of the equipment, detectives located files depicting child pornography with victims as young as 4 to 6 years old. His girlfriend told detectives she previously found disturbing images on his computer, and destroyed the hard drive with bleach and a sledgehammer. They seized the equipment for further analysis. He was taken into custody without incident and charged with:

• 12 counts possession of child pornography (F-3)
• 1 count promotion of sexual performance by a child (F-2)

A search warrant was executed at 335 Madison Circle in Davenport, where 30-year-old Rickie Vargas-Garcia lives. Detectives received a tip that child pornography files were being downloaded by a computer user at that address. Detectives responded to the home and talked with Vargas-Garcia, who admitted that the computer equipment was his and that he trades and views child pornography, and solicits female juveniles online to send him nude photos and videos of themselves. He said he tells juveniles online that he is 18 years old. He said the youngest female he communicated and shared nude photos with was 11 years old. During an initial preview of the equipment, detectives located files depicting child pornography with victims as young as 3 to 5 years old. He told detectives he's a Lego builder for Merlin Entertainment. They seized the equipment for further analysis. He was taken into custody without incident and charged with:

• 10 counts possession of child pornography - enhanced (F-2)

VARGAS-GARCIA CRIMINAL HISTORY: Vargas-Garcia was arrested in 2008 in Virginia for DUI.

A search warrant was executed at 388 Toledo Road in Davenport, where 84-year-old Don Carrier lives. Detectives received a tip that child pornography files were being advertised by a computer user at that address. Detectives responded to the home and talked with Carrier, who admitted that the computer equipment was his and that he has been viewing child pornography for several years - he waits for his wife to leave the house and then watches it. During an initial preview of the equipment, detectives located files depicting child pornography with victims as young as 3 years old. They seized the equipment for further analysis. He was taken into custody without incident and charged with:

• 200 counts possession of child pornography - enhanced (F-2)

A search warrant was executed at 821 Corvina Drive in Davenport, where 53-year-old Roger Catey lives. Detectives received a tip that child pornography files were being downloaded by a computer user at that address. Detectives responded to the home and talked with Catey, who admitted that the computer equipment was his and that he has been viewing child pornography for approximately one year. During an initial preview of the equipment, detectives located files depicting child pornography with victims as young as 3 years old. They seized the equipment for further analysis. He told detectives he is employed at Walt Disney World as a project manager in the costumes department. He was taken into custody without incident and charged with:

• 24 counts possession of child pornography - enhanced (F-2)
• 2 counts promotion of sexual performance by a child (F-2)

A search warrant was executed at 3218 Crystal Hills Drive in Lakeland, where

35-year-old Mathew Sentz lives. Detectives received a tip that child pornography files were being downloaded by a computer user at that address. Detectives responded to the home and talked with Sentz, who admitted that the computer equipment was his and that he has been viewing child pornography for approximately one year. During an initial preview of the equipment, detectives located files depicting child pornography with victims as young as 2 to 4 years old. They seized the equipment for further analysis. He was taken into custody without incident and charged with:

• 100 counts possession of child pornography - enhanced (F-2) 

SENTZ CRIMINAL HISTORY: Sentz is a registered sex offender. He was arrested in Illinois 2000 for possession of child pornography when he was 17 years old, and he was sentenced to & spent 3 years in prison, 30 months' worth of probation and 200 hours of public service. He was arrested by Lakeland P.D. in 2009 for failure to register as a sex offender.

A search warrant was executed at 512 Fawn Place in Lakeland, where 24-year-old Jarrod Whiting lives. Detectives received a tip that child pornography files were being downloaded by a computer user at that address. Detectives responded to the home and talked with Whiting, who admitted that the computer equipment was his and that he has been viewing child pornography for "a while." He admitted to viewing images depicting children as young as infants. During an initial preview of the equipment, detectives located files depicting child pornography with victims as young as 4 years old. They seized the equipment for further analysis. He was taken into custody without incident and charged with:

• 14 counts possession of child pornography - enhanced (F-2)

A search warrant was executed at 4110 Poinsettia Drive in Mulberry, where 20-year-old Alejandro Baltazar II lives. Detectives received a tip that child pornography files were being downloaded by a computer user at that address. Detectives responded to the home and talked with Baltazar, who told detectives he's been viewing child pornography for the past two years. During an initial preview of the equipment, detectives located files depicting child pornography with victims as young as 2 years old. They seized the equipment for further analysis. He told detectives he's a Hillsborough Community College student. He was taken into custody without incident and charged with:

• 55 counts possession of child pornography - enhanced (F-2)

A search warrant was executed at 838 Lake Cummings Blvd in Lake Alfred, where 69-year-old Donald Marich lives. Detectives received a tip that child pornography files were being downloaded by a computer user at that address. Detectives responded to the home and talked with Marich, who denied downloading child pornography. During an initial preview of the equipment, detectives located files depicting child pornography. He told detectives he is a retired schoolteacher from Maricopa County, Arizona, and that he lives alone but is a Disney annual pass holder and frequently attends the theme park alone. They seized the equipment for further analysis. He was taken into custody without incident and charged with:

• 16 counts possession of child pornography - enhanced (F-2)
• 3 counts promotion of child pornography (F-2)

A search warrant was executed at 602 Musrkat Drive in Kissimmee, where 16-year-old Zachary Ramirez lives. Detectives received a NCMEC tip that child pornography files were being downloaded to a Dropbox account. Detectives responded to the home and talked with his parents, and then responded to Haines City High School to talk to the suspect. He admitted to viewing images depicting children as young as infants. During an initial preview of his cell phone, detectives located files depicting child pornography with victims as young as 12-24 months old. They seized the equipment for further analysis. He was taken into custody without incident and charged with:

• 12 counts possession of child pornography - enhanced (F-2)