FLEMING ISLAND – Clay County Undersheriff Ron Lendvay’s tone never wavered. His eyes were fixed and intense. And there was nothing vague about his words during Tuesday’s press conference announcing the results of a child exploitation sting, Operation Firewall.

“Our message to anyone who thinks they can get away with exploiting a child is simple. We will find you. We will stop you. We will arrest you. We will hold you accountable.”

Joined by members from the sheriff’s office’s Internet Against Crimes Children’s Unit, Orange Park Police Department, Jacksonville, Putnam and Flagler county sheriff’s office, State Attorney’s Office, North Florida INTERCEPT Task Force with support from Operation Light Shine, Navy Criminal Investigations Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Lendvay said Operation Firewall was a four-day operation from July 15-18 to “identify, engage, intercept and arrest suspects who are seeking to exploit children both online and in person.”

The results were the arrest of 12 men – seven from Clay County – who were charged with using a computer to lure or solicit a minor for sex. Some were also charged with traveling to meet a minor for sex, Lendvay said.

All thought they were communicating with the minor, but in reality, they were talking to detectives from Northeast Florida.

Those from Clay County were Giovanni Roman, Terry Michael Burger, Charles Hendry, Hayden Jeffree Bailey L’Esperance, Derryn Miles Mobley, Cameron Kejuan Taylor and Kelvin Cruz.

Roman was arrested on Monday, Aug. 24, and booked on Tuesday for using a computer and traveling to lure or solicit a child for sex, as well as using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony. His bond was set at $850,000 after he responded to an internet post with someone he believed was a child. When he arrived for the meeting, he was met by law enforcement officers.

“These arrests announced today happened over the course of just a few days and weeks,” said Daniel Dunn of the FBI. “Undersheriff Lendvay mentioned a few of those stories, which were horrifying. Unfortunately, there are many more stories just like these that we encounter every single day.

“Our children are growing up in a world where they are surrounded by threats, especially on their phones and on their computers. Our goal is not simply to investigate these crimes after they happen. It is to prevent our children from being victimized in the first place. This work is not something that the FBI can do alone. Our partnerships here with the local, state and federal agencies, here with us today, are critical to identifying predators, building strong cases, both on the state and federal side, and removing dangerous people from children.”

Others from outside Clay County who were arrested included Jaedyn Wells, Jarron Papale, Nathaniel Pusey, James Taylor and Khamhou Sengdara.

“Operation Firewall was a proactive undercover operation coordinated by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit to locate and identify individuals who use the internet to travel and/or sexually exploit children,” Lendvay said.

With 12 facing charges, Lendvay said there are two others of interest they are investigating.