CCSO arrests 11 child predators in Operation Lucky Strike

Citrus County Sheriff's Office (CCSO)

Citrus County, Florida - On Friday, March 17, 2023, the Citrus County Sheriff's Office's High Tech Crimes Unit (HTCU) released the result of Operation Lucky Strike, a tactical undercover Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) operation to apprehend cyber predators who attempted to engage in sexual activity with children.

Over the course of this operation, officials from the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, along with the United States Secret Service, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), and several Florida law enforcement agencies: Marion County Sheriff's Office, Hernando County Sheriff's Office, Sumter County Sheriff's Office, and Tavares Police Department, worked collaboratively to capture these online child sex predators.

According to a press release, during the operation, law enforcement officials posed as minors on various websites, waiting to be solicited through online messages. Knowing the ages of the children, the people arrested still chose to send sexually explicit pictures, messages and/or detailed requests of various sexual activities they wanted to perform with the child. Some of the arrestees had driven as long as an hour or more, with the impression they would be meeting with a child to engage in sexual activity with - only they were greeted by law enforcement personnel. In total, twelve arrests were made as a result of this operation.

See a video of Operation Lucky Strike here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQGWk5dxomc.

The following people were arrested within Citrus County during this operation:

• Cristian Gabriel Rosado-Marrero, 27, of Summerfield, FL, was charged with traveling to seduce or solicit a child in a sexual act, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device ($27,000 bond).

• Devin Michael Cordeiro, 26, of Brooksville, FL, was charged with traveling to seduce or solicit a child in a sexual act, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device ($27,000 bond).

• Franklin Lezama, 31 of Bradenton, FL, was charged with traveling to seduce or solicit a child in a sexual act, transmission of harmful material to a minor, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, carrying a concealed weapon with no license, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon ($72,000 bond).

• Jeff D. Adams, 46, of Crystal River, FL, was charged with traveling to seduce or solicit a child in a sexual act, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device ($27,000 bond).

• Sean Robert Mooney, 40, of Homosassa, FL, was charged with traveling to seduce or solicit a child in a sexual act, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device ($27,000 bond).

• Robert Allan Rankin, 31, of Hernando, FL, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia ($3,000 bond). The press release stated that Mr. Rankin was an accomplice to Sean Robert Mooney (see above arrest) due to driving Mr. Mooney to the meeting location.

The following subjects were arrested on Citrus County warrants as part of this operation:

• Matthew Leathers, 40, of Palm Bay, FL, was charged with two counts of transmission of material harmful to a minor, computer pornography - seducing, soliciting, luring, or enticing a child to engage in an illegal act, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device ($4,000 bond).

• Glenn Cunningham, 37, of Homosassa, FL, was charged with two counts of transmission of harmful material to a minor, computer pornography - seducing, soliciting, luring, or enticing a child to engage in an illegal act, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device ($8,000 bond).

• James Patrick Lake, 51, of Tampa, FL, was charged with transmission of material harmful to a minor, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device ($4,000 bond).

• Marc Philip Werner Lovric, 40, of Beverly Hills, FL, was charged with transmission of material harmful to a minor, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device ($4,000 bond).

• Alex Anthony Francis, 32, of Orlando, FL, was charged with transmission of material harmful to a minor, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device ($4,000 bond).

• Ralph Joseph Perkins, 53, of Tampa, FL, was charged with failing to register all electronic mail and identifiers ($2,000 bond).

"These abhorrent and sick individuals prey upon children for their own perverted benefit. These individuals knowingly send vile and sexually explicit messages to minors online, and even travel hours to meet up with a child with the intention to carry out these repulsive acts, if not something worse," said Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast. "Preying on children is absolutely despicable. I am incredibly proud of the extraordinary partnership between our agency and the law enforcement agencies who assisted us in bringing these monsters to justice and off of our streets. If operations like Lucky Strike takes only one predator off of the streets, it is a success. We've stopped twelve immoral criminals this time, so we deem Lucky Strike a huge success."

If you suspect someone is committing crimes against our youth, call (352) 249-2790 to immediately report your suspicions to othe CCSO, or download the Sheriff's App to use the Submit a tip' feature to make a report instantly.

Download the Sheriff's App here:
• Android devices
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ocv.citruscountyflsheriff&hl=en_US&gl=US
• Apple devices
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/citrus-county-sheriffs-office/id1481134574

CCSO App users can look up Sexual Offenders in their area by clicking on the Sexual Offenders' feature, which will show a photo of the offender, their name, physical descriptors, address, and your approximate distance from their location (if app location settings are turned on by the user).