ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A man was arrested in St. Johns County after he thought he was meeting a child for sex, the sheriff's office announced Tuesday.
Rolando Gago, 48, was charged with using a computer service to seduce, solicit and lure a person believed to be a child, traveling to meet a minor, transmitting information harmful to minors, using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony and using a computer service to entice a person believed to be a parent to commit an unlawful sexual act with a child.
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Detectives with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office Cyber Crimes Unit were assisting the Volusia County Sheriff's Office during Operation K.I.S.S., an online sex sting operation earlier this month.
"Our children are one of our most valuable resources in this country," said Commander Chuck Mulligan with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office. "We don’t want to see them abused in any way, shape or form. That’s why we run these operations."
Initial conversations between the suspect and detectives began during the operation and were continued on Monday.
That afternoon, a meeting between the suspect and alleged minor was established, detectives said.
The suspect traveled to meet the undercover officers at an undisclosed location inside the city limits of St. Augustine where he was taken into custody, detectives said.
Gago was booked into the jail on bonds totaling $30,000.
He's also facing a violation of probation charge through the Florida Department of Corrections on unrelated charges.
"With more resources and man power being placed into this we’re capturing more of these individuals," said Mulligan. "That’s a good thing over all. We’re going to continue to do these operations whenever we have the opportunity to do them."