NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that its second major operation in 2025 targeting child sexual predators had netted an additional eight arrests.
Combined, the two operations this year resulted in 31 arrests, with most suspects facing felony charges, including traveling to meet a minor.
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Special Operation Stuffed Animals, which took place Aug. 21–23, 2025, involved undercover detectives posing online as teenagers to target individuals attempting to commit sexual crimes against children.
Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said that when the suspects attempted to arrange sexual encounters with those they thought were as young as 14 or 15 years old, investigators intercepted and arrested them.
Among those taken into custody:
- A 40-year-old Yulee man who is currently on felony probation for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer stemming from an incident earlier this year.
- A 39-year-old Jacksonville man with what the sheriff described as an extensive criminal history, including aggravated battery, grand theft, assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, and possession of cocaine.
- A 55-year-old Jacksonville man who has prior prostitution-related charges.
“These cases underscore that some of the individuals attempting to prey on children also come with violent criminal backgrounds,” Leeper said. “Protecting our children is one of my top priorities, and we will continue to pursue anyone who seeks to exploit or harm them.”
Special Operation Stuffed Animals was a coordinated effort involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), Lake City Police Department, Fernandina Beach Police Department, and the Clay, St. Johns, and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Offices.