On July 11th in Callahan at our monthly Nassau CDF meeting, our own Sheriff Detective Carter shared a riveting overview of Child Predators in Nassau County. You heard that right – in Nassau County! Our children!
Detective Carter is with the Nassau County’s Sheriff’s office. He is assigned to the Homeland Security Investigations Task Force. He is also assigned to the Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force.
This task force is taking child predators off the street across north Florida. Locally here in Nassau County, the task force arrested 11 predators in late 2022 who were seeking to meet 12 and 14 year old girls for sex. Detective Carter related a particularly heinous story about former police officer from Massachusetts who was seeking to meet a 14-year old girl in Yulee for sex. This sting was a joint operation with FLDOE, FBI, Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies working with our Sheriff’s office.
In February, Jack Knocke, Executive Director of Nassau Citizens Defending Freedom, attended a Citizens Law Enforcement Academy (CLEA) , an 8 week course. According to Knocke, “Sheriff Leeper and his team gave a behind the scenes look at the entire operation. Comprehensive and impressive.”
In one CLEA session that made a huge impact on Knocke, the Lieutenant and his team described the child sex sting operation. The room full of officers on online apps. The phones ringing off the hook. The revolving door at the “meet” house. All of this in Nassau County. An undercover drug officer assigned to the sting described how intense his job is dealing with drug dealers. Then he related how the predator sting left a lasting impact on his psyche. As the Sheriff stated, these predators are sick people. Our Deputies and Detectives are local heroes – running at the danger.
During the sting session, our Public Relations host described how the phone apps are used to lure children. The predators use the apps to “play” games with the kids, they share tips, provide keys, and eventually create a relationship. One predator stated that he would “prey” for the child. With a teenage daughter, she was keenly concerned.
When the movie Sound of Freedom was released in early July, Nassau CDF promoted the story of Homeland Security Special Agent Tim Ballard. Detective Carter, is leading the charge for us and our kids locally.
Now, one last footnote. While we were setting up at The Pig Restaurant last Tuesday, an alert waitresses overheard the conversation and related an experience she had with a customer a couple of weeks earlier. Middle aged man. Young child – scared when spoken to, foreign appearance. The child’s reaction made a troubling impression. The Detective is investigating. We all need to be diligent – for all of the children.
Detective Carter recommended apps like Live360 and others to track location and monitor phone usage. Gaming apps should also be blocked or tracked.
The crux of the movie is that they arrest predators all the time but they they rarely rescue the children. Be aware. If you suspect something, call 911.
Nassau – CDF launches ” Parents Month” in August as children are headed back to school. Knocke emphasized, “we seek to make parents more aware of the dangers in the phones that children carry.” Additionally, parents month is focused on getting facts to parents about education, curriculum, library books, values and volunteering in schools. One major factor for children is how important parental influence is to children, teachers and school officials.
Thank you Sheriff Bill Leeper and your team for staying the course to find the predators and protect our children!
We are a respectful, God centered organization educating citizens, driving government transparency, and protecting children. Join our email list by signing up on our CDF – Nassau County webpage at https://www.counties.citizensdefendingfreedom.com/fl-nassau/.
Jack KnockeCitizens Defending FreedomExecutive Director, Nassau County
Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me. | Mark 9:37
