32-year-old Mahesh Radhakrishnan, of Lake Mary; on April 1, 2016, he arrived at the undercover location to have sexual intercourse with who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. During conversations with the undercover detective, Radhakrishnan asked the "girl" to take a shower and have her hair wet before he arrived.

 He also told her that since she was 14 years old and too young to drive, he would come pick her up and take her to a hotel or to his house. More than once, he told her to delete the text messages between them. He had a bag containing condoms and sex toys in his vehicle. He told detectives he is married, and his wife and newborn baby are in India. He told detectives he is a computer program director. He was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with: • One count Use of Two -Way Communication Device to Commit Felony (F-3) • One count Use of Computer to Seduce Child (F-3) • One count Traveling to Meet a Minor (F-2) • One count Attempted Lewd Battery (F-3)

28-year-old Jerin Jolly James, of Celebration; on March 30, 2016, he arrived at the undercover location to have sexual intercourse with who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. James brought condoms to the undercover location. After his arrest, he told detectives he wanted to talk to the girl in person and tell her how wrong talking with men online about sex was, and that he uses condoms with his wife. He told his wife he was going to 7-Eleven and instead drove to the undercover location. 

He told detectives he is married and works as a technician at Florida Hospital in Orlando. He was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with: • One count Use of Two -Way Communication Device to Commit Felony (F-3) • One count Use of Computer to Seduce Child & Misrepresent Age (F-2) • One count Traveling to Meet a Minor (F-2) • One count Attempted Lewd Battery (F-2) 

Police: Men brought candy, condoms, narcotics, to have sex with kids

POLK COUNTY, FL (WFLA) — Candy, condoms, and narcotics were some of the items that suspects brought with them when they traveled to have sex with children, according to detectives who recently conducted an undercover online child sex sting that targeted child sex predators.

17 people were arrested during “Operation April Fools” which was conducted March 29 through April 4 in Polk County. An arrest warrant was issued for one more suspect.

During the operation, undercover detectives posted fictitious ads or profiles on various social media platforms, websites, and mobile phone applications, posing as children, or as custodians of children.

Detectives say that despite the repeated warnings and media coverage of past operations, numerous men responded to the ads and then proceeded to chat online, email, text, and talk on the phone with the undercover detectives who posed as children or custodians of children online.

Some of the detectives responded to profiles and online ads. The suspects solicited who they thought were children as young as 13 years old for sex acts; two suspects solicited who they thought was the father of a 10-year-old girl to have sex with her. 

Some suspects sent pornographic pictures of themselves, and some asked for nude photos of the children to be sent to them. Several of the men drove to the house to follow through with the promises made online to engage in sexual activity with the juveniles.

Most of the suspects traveled to an undercover location or to another meeting place. Detectives say nine suspects brought condoms, some brought candy, and some brought illegal narcotics to the undercover location.

Five suspects told detectives they were married. The youngest suspect arrested was 19 years old, and the oldest suspect arrested was 60 years old – the average age of the suspects is 28 years old.

Six of the suspects were from Polk County (Auburndale, Davenport, Haines City, Lake Alfred and Lakeland).

Detectives say other suspects traveled from the following locations-

1 traveled from Collier County (Naples);

1 traveled from Lake County (Clermont);

1 traveled from Osceola County (Celebration);

4 traveled from Orange County (Orlando, Winter Garden, Ocoee, Apopka);

1 traveled from St. Johns County (Ponte Vedra);

1 traveled from Seminole County (Lake Mary);

2 traveled from Volusia County (Deltona, Daytona Beach);

1 lives in Alaska (he was visiting Polk).

Including the charges they face in this investigation, the suspects have a combined arrest history of 24 previous felonies and 24 previous misdemeanors.