Polk County Sheriff’s detectives arrested nine men this month as part of an undercover investigation into child pornography.

Eight of the men are facing charges of possession and distribution of child pornography, while one of the men was arrested for lewd molestation and contributing to the deliquency of a minor.

Daniel Dunfee, 21, of Lakeland, is accused of convincing teenage girls in Illinois to send him nude photos, then threatening to post them online if they did not send him more photos.

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Dunfee contacted two teenage girls, ages 14 and 16, who lived in Illinois using Instagram and got their Kik and Snapchat information. He asked to "trade nude photos and videos" with the girls, then sent nude photos of himself, detectives said.

Once the girls sent photos back to him, he then threatened to post them online if they did not send him more, detectives said.

The girls blocked him from their social media accounts, and one girl's father reported the incident to the Elgin Police Department, who determined the suspect lived in Lakeland. Police officers then contacted the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

"It spooks you a little bit," said Dunfee's neighbor Richard Payne. "You don’t know what’s going on down there. The guy’s on the computer with child porn it’s about as perverted as you can get."

Dunfee was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography, transmission of material harmful to a minor, use of a computer to seduce a child, misrepresenting age and use of computer to seduce a child, extortion, criminal use of personal identification and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

The following were also arrested:

  • James Crawford, 34, of Winter Haven, is accused of possessing child pornography on his personal computers. Detectives said they found at least 120 files depicting children as young as 3 years old being sexually battered by adults. They said they also found several firearms, marijuana and paraphernalia in his house. Crawford is facing 120 counts of possession of child pornography and one count each of possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.
  • Arthur F. Lee, 55, of Lakeland, is accused of possessing two video files that show prepubescent girls being sexually battered by adult males. Detectives said Lee told them he downloaded child pornography showing children as young as 8 years old. Lee is facing two counts of possession of child pornography.
  • Steven Rivera, 26, of Kissimmee, was arrested after detectives found videos showing prepubescent girls being sexually battered by adult males on his laptop, the report said. Detectives said Rivera told them he had been looking at child pornography for years. Rivera is facing one count of possession of child pornography and one count of promotion of child pornography.
  • Santos Palacios, 29, of Haines City, is accused of possessing two video files showing prepubescent girls being sexually battered by adult males, and of distributing those videos to others. Detectives said Palacios told them he had downloaded one video with child pornography. Palacios is facing one count of possession of child pornography and two counts of promotion of child pornography.
  • Eric Reynolds, 32, of Winter Haven is accused of possessing 25 videos showing minors being sexually battered by adult males. Detectives said Reynolds told them he had been downloading child pornography since he was released from prison in 2013, where he served time for felony battery. Palacios is facing 25 counts of possession of child pornography.
  • Roger Coulson, 63, of Frostproof, is accused of possessing videos showing young girls being sexually battered by adult men, as well as wiping/erasing software commonly used in attempts to delete child pornography. Coulson is facing one count of possession of child pornography and two counts of promotion of child pornography.
  • William Humphrey, 24, of Lakeland, is accused of possessing a video showing a child being sexually battered by adults. Deputies said he told them he has been looking at child pornography since his pre-teen years. Humphrey is facing one count of promotion of child pornography.
  • Richard Murray, 22, of Lakeland, is facing 30 counts of possession of child pornography, as well as charges of lewd molestation and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Deputies said he engaged in lewd activity with a 15-year-old girl, and that he had been exchanging sexually explicit images with her via email. They said they also found more than 30 nude and sexually explicit images on his phone depicting children, including the victim.

Most of the suspects could be facing additional charges pending the outcome of forensic analysis on their computers and devices.