Two more men have been arrested following a six-day online child sex sting operation led by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, joining 33 others including a youth sports coach and several men who worked closely with children.
During the online operation, dubbed “Operation Summertime Blues,” law enforcement officers posing as children were contacted by numerous men, ranging in age from 18 to 64, who were looking to engage in sexual activity with children.
On Tuesday, July 30, MCSO announced that 33 men had been arrested as a result of this operation. According to the sheriff’s office, the online conversations with these men were “sexually explicit,” and they described in graphic detail the types of sexual acts that they hoped to perform with the children.
Many of these men arranged to meet with the officers, who were posing as children between the ages of 13 to 15 years old. Some of the men even traveled from outside the state of Florida to the arranged meeting locations.
Upon arrival at the meeting spots, the men were greeted by law enforcement officers who placed them under arrest. MCSO stated that the officers also seized guns, various drugs, cash, and vehicles that belonged to the men.
During a press conference held on Tuesday, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods shared details regarding several of the men who were arrested as a result of the operation. One of the men, 32-year-old Ocala resident Alberto Christian Quiroz, worked for a company (Kids Central) that helps children, and another man – Joseph Rocco Quaranta, 48 of Dunnellon – coached children in Little League Baseball and Pop Warner Football.
The sheriff further stated that one of the men arrested during the operation, 25-year-old Oscar Vega DeJesus, traveled from Georgia and allegedly admitted to investigators that he targets children because they are “easy.”
Hours after Tuesday’s press conference concluded, MCSO announced on social media that a 34th man, 51-year-old Ocklawaha resident Michael Fleming Salifsberg, was arrested as a result of Operation Summertime Blues. According to the sheriff’s office, Salifsberg was one of the men that detectives chatted with during the online sting operation.
While Salifsberg did not travel to meet with the presumed child, he allegedly engaged in sexually explicit conversations and sent explicit photos to “someone he believed was a child.”
On Wednesday, July 31, in another social media update, MCSO stated that a 35th man, identified as 26-year-old Paul Juston Clayton, has been arrested as a result of the operation. Clayton allegedly sent numerous explicit photos and messages, which included detailed descriptions of what he wanted to do with a girl that he thought was 14 years old.
While the online sting operation recently concluded, MCSO anticipates more arrests as the investigation continues.
In addition to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Ocala Police Department, Chiefland Police Department, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement also assisted with the six-day sting operation.