News and Investigations

In about a span of one week, detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested five local men and a 16-year old male juvenile for possession of child pornography.

Investigations of the suspects began after detectives received tips from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the passing of child pornography on the internet.

“The images and videos located during this investigation are horrific. We are committed to protecting our children from those who possess, trade, and distribute child pornography. These men are a part of a worldwide underground child pornography distribution market – the demand for this vile material harms children and ruins lives. I appreciate the hard work our detectives did that was necessary to file these charges. Working to keep our children safe is the most important thing we do.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff

The following are the six most recent arrests for possession of child pornography, which is a Felony of the Third Degree. However, the charges are enhanced to a Felony of the Second Degree if the suspect possesses 10 or more images of child pornography and at least one image contains any of the following criteria: image depicting a child younger than the age of 5, image depicts sadomasochistic abuse of a child, image depicts sexual battery of a child, image depicts sexual bestiality involving a child, or there is a video involving the sexual exploitation of a child.

Alejandro Manuel Resto Rodriguez, 20, from Winter Haven.
A NCMEC tip was sent to the PCSO in regards to child pornography being transferred via the Discord instant messaging platform. On December 5, 2022, PCSO detectives determined that Rodriguez had downloaded and viewed child pornography on his cell phone. An initial search of that device revealed 94 files of children between a few months old to eight years of age engaging in lewd acts.

Rodriguez was charged with 94 counts of enhanced possession of child pornography.

Jonathan Omar Baez Rivera, 18, from Haines City.
A NCMEC tip was sent to the PCSO in regards to child pornography was transferred via the Instagram platform. On December 6, 2022, detectives met with Rivera and it was learned that he had also used the Snapchat platform to view child pornography. During an initial search of Rivera’s cell phone, 17 files were found which showed children between one and nine years of age engaged in sexually explicit lewd acts.

Rivera was charged with 17 counts of enhanced possession of child pornography.

Ian James Vache, 47, from Lakeland.
A NCMEC tip was provided to the PCSO regarding child pornography uploaded via a Google email account. On December 7, 2022, detectives met with Vache and he admitted to seeing child pornography online, but denied downloading it. However, and initial search of Vache’s cell phone revealed 160 files that showed children, some younger than six months of age, engaged in lewd acts.

While on scene, detectives also found a glass pipe containing methamphetamine.

Vache was charged with enhanced possession of child pornography (160 counts), possession of methamphetamine (F3) and possession of drug paraphernalia (M1).

Vache’s prior criminal history includes Battery, Narcotics, Trespassing, DUI, and Driving While License Suspended/Revoked.

Marco Cepeda, Jr., 24, from Lakeland
PCSO detectives received a NECMEC tip about child pornography having been uploaded on a Dropbox account. On December 7, 2022, detectives met with Cepeda at his residence and located a digital storage device in which seven child pornography images were found during an initial search.

Cepeda was charged with seven counts of possession of child pornography.

Cepeda has a prior criminal history which includes battery on a law enforcement officer and battery on Fire/EMS.

Emanuel Paulino-Correa, 18, from Poinciana.
A NCMEC tip regarding the uploading and sharing of child pornography via the Kik instant messaging app was provided to the PCSO. On November 30, 2022, detectives executed a search warrant at a residence in Poinciana and recovered a cell phone in Paulino-Correa’s bedroom. A search of the phone revealed 30 images of children engaged in sexual conduct.

Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Paulino-Correa, and located him that same day.

Paulino-Correa was charged with 30 counts of enhanced possession of child pornography.

16-year-old teen from Davenport
A NCMEC tip was provided to the PCSO regarding child pornography uploaded via a Google account. Detectives met with the suspect and one of his parents at their residence on December 8, 2022. During a search of his desktop computer, 25 files of children engaged in sexual conduct were discovered.

The suspect was charged with 25 counts of enhanced possession of child pornography.

During each of these investigations, other electronic devices owned by the suspects are taken, and a forensic search is conducted on them. If any additional child pornography is located during the search, the suspect will be charged accordingly.