Police Arrest 22 Men in Undercover Sex Sting

Twenty-two men have been arrested, accused of traveling to meet a minor for sex, following a three week undercover operation Polk County Sheriff’s deputies said on Tuesday.

Dubbed “Operation Last House Call”, investigators said, nearly every suspect answered advertisements posted by undercover detectives on Internet advertising websites, including Craigslist, Backpage, MyYearbook and OKCupid. The common theme of the ads were: “mom/stepparent/aunt/guardian seeking guidance for my daughter/stepdaughter/niece,” for girls as young as age 9 years old up to age 14 years old.

Among the arrestees is a Andre Jezierski, 58, of Winter Park and a former CEO of New Corp. JV, a subsidiary of Sky Latin America.  Investigators said, Jezierski, drove to the undercover location to teach a 13-year-old girl how to have sex.  He chatted with who he believed to be her mom.  He arrested at the undercover location, booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with one count of traveling to meet a minor for sex, one count of using a computer to seduce a child.

A U.S. Navy officer from Virgin Beach was also one of those arrested. 52-year-old Jay Stroup, was in town to hang out with friends in Bradenton, before being deployed. He drove to the undercover location to teach a woman’s 11-year-old daughter to have sex in a “coming” of age ceremony.  Stroup was arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail on charges of one count of traveling to meet a minor for Sex and one count of traveling to entice a parent to consent with sex With a child.

29-year-old Rene Mercado, a Texas businessman, who was in Orlando on business, drove from his hotel to the undercover location to teach a woman’s 13-year-old sister how to have sex.  Investigators said, Mercado was arrested when he came to the house.  He has been charged with one count of traveling to meet a minor for sex, traveling to entice a parent to consent with sex with a child and one count of possession of marijuana.

Investigators said, 14 of the 22 adult male suspects who were arrested answered online ads, expressing an interest in responding to the house to engage in sexual acts with the young girls, some of them saying they were willing to “teach” the children how to have sex. Some of the men also expressed an interest in having sex with the “mom” and the “child” at the same time.

11 of the 22 adult male suspects have criminal histories. One is a registered sex offender. One has a permanent injunction against him for dating violence. Several admitted to owning and looking at child pornography and being sexually aroused when looking at child porn. Four of the suspects are from other states – Maryland, Virginia, Texas, and Missouri. One of the suspects sent flowers to the two “adult women” who wanted him to participate in a “rite of passage” ceremony with their 11-year-old daughter – he sent chocolate candy to the “daughter.”

One of the suspects, an 18-year-old, George T. Drage, of Orlando, who drove to the undercover location to have sex with who he thought was a 13-year-old girl he met in the ‘Casual Encounters’ section of Craigslist, uttered the spontaneous comment as detectives were placing the handcuffs on him, “My mom’s gonna kill me – and tomorrow is Mother’s Day, too.”

See Full List of Suspects Here.