A Lehigh Acres man was one of 12 people arrested in an undercover sting operation out of Polk County that targeted sexual predators online, officials said.
The operation dubbed “Operation Child Protector II” was a two-week-long investigation conducted by Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Auburndale Police Department, and Winter Haven Police Department, detectives.
Detectives posed as children across multiple online platforms to catch predators in the act.
43-year-old Johnny Hughley of Lehigh Acres started chatting online with an undercover detective posing as a 14-year-old girl on June 5. Investigators said he began a sexually inappropriate conversation immediately that progressed into him sending the undercover agent a nude photo and admitting to liking young girls.
Hugley was arrested on Wednesday and booked into the Lee County Jail before he was released on a $2,000 bond the same day.
He is facing one count of use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony and one count of transmission of material harmful to a minor
Hughley has an extensive criminal history in Lee County including battery, sale of cocaine, drug possession, and more.