In what is becoming somewhat of a regular announcement, Polk County Sheriff's officials announced the arrest of men for allegedly soliciting undercover male detectives for sex in a Polk county public park.
“The men we arrest during operations like this usually have two things in common," Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. "Most of them are married and they are always angry that we arrested them. Now, they all have a third thing in common -- they have all visited the Polk County Jail."
Officials said detectives conducted an undercover operation at the Saddle Creek Park on Combee Road, between Lakeland and Winter Haven, in response to continued complaints of lewd activity in the park.
During the May 1 operation, male undercover detectives said they made contact with various men in the park, seven of whom allegedly solicited the detectives to perform sex acts with them.
Arrested during this operation were:
- Lester Collier, 75, of Winter Haven - Charged with offer to commit lewdness and exposure of a sex organ.
- Joseph Huggins, 20, of Lakeland - Charged with offer to commit lewdness, exposure of a sex organ, possession of marijuana.
- Anthony Lopez, 70, of Winter Haven - Charged with battery and soliciting another to commit lewdness. He told detectives that he is a retired school teacher from Connecticut.
- Julian Moore, 49, of Lakeland - Charged with offer to commit lewdness and exposure of sex organ.
- Darryl Oglesby, 50, of Orlando - Charged with solicit another to commit lewdness and exposure of a sex organ.
- Frank Panis, 69, of Auburndale - Charged with offer to commit lewdness, exposure of sex organ and resisting arrest.
- Jack Wallace, 84, of Lakeland - Charged with exposure of a sex organ.
Judd stressed that lewd acts in public would not be tolerated in Polk County. "If you commit lewd acts in public, you can expect to get arrested. The law-abiding citizens of the county are the ones who have the right to be angry about this type of behavior."