Child sexual predators arrested during "Operation Cyber Springsting"

Citrus County Sheriff's Office (CCSO)

Citrus County, Florida - On May 6, 2024, the Citrus County Sheriff's Office High Tech Crimes Unit (HTCU) released the results of Operation Cyber Springsting, an online undercover Internet Crimes Against Children operation intended to apprehend cyber predators who attempted to engage in sexual activity with a child.

During this operation, detectives, deputies, and other staff members of the Citrus County Sheriff's Office worked collaboratively with other agencies to apprehend these online child sex predators. These agencies included the United States Secret Service, State Attorney's Office Fifth Judicial Circuit, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Hernando County Sheriff's Office, Tavares (Florida) Police Department, and other federal agencies.

During Operation Cyber Springsting, law enforcement officials posed as minors on various websites, waiting to be solicited through online messages by online predators.

Although the predators acknowledged they were aware of the alleged child's age, they sent sexually explicit pictures, messages, or detailed requests of various sexual activities they wanted to perform with the child. Some had driven for an hour or longer, assuming they were meeting a minor to engage in sexual activity with. Instead, they were greeted by law enforcement personnel. As a result of this operation, 15 people were arrested.

The following people were arrested in Citrus County during this operation:

John Steven Baretela Jr., 65, of Brooksville, FL, was charged with traveling to seduce or solicit a child in a sex act, and transmission of material harmful to a minor ($50,000 bond).

Fredy Guillerno Betancourth Reyes, 30, of Tampa, FL, was charged with traveling to seduce or solicit a child in a sex act, 3 counts of transmission of material harmful to a minor, and solicitation of a minor ($125,000 bond).

Kymani Josiah Bryan, 22, of Ocala, FL, was charged with traveling to seduce or solicit a child in a sex act, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device ($27,500 bond).

Mitchel Ryan Carter, 32, of Dunnellon, FL, was charged with traveling to seduce or solicit a child in a sex act, 8 counts of possession of child pornography, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device (total bond set at none).

John Edward Hughes Jr., 40, of Hernando, FL, was charged with traveling to seduce or solicit a child in a sex act, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device ($27,500 bond).

Jose Alejandro Santana, 29, of Seffner, FL, was charged with traveling to seduce or solicit a child in a sex act, and 4 counts of transmission of material harmful to a minor ($125,000 bond).

Joseph Henry Sysol, 37, of Brooksville, FL, was charged with traveling to seduce or solicit a child in a sex act, transmission of material harmful to a minor, and 12 counts of possession of child pornography (total bond set at none).

James Patton Dillman, 43, of Floral City, FL, was charged with transmission of material harmful to a minor ($25,000 bond).

The following people were arrested on Citrus County warrants as part of this operation:

Stephen Anthony Cisneros, 27, of Inverness, FL, was arrested on a Citrus County warrant for 2 counts of transmission of material harmful to a minor (total bond set at none).

Debra Fuller, 64, of Dunnellon, FL, was arrested on a Citrus County warrant for two sex offender reporting violations: failing to report to a sheriff's office within 48 hours of vacating or relocating residence, and failing to update her telephone number within 48 hours (total bond set at none).

Dylan Kelly, 31, of Citrus Springs, FL, was arrested on a Citrus County warrant for two sex offender reporting violations: failure to report to a sheriff's office within 48 hours of vacating or relocating residence, and failure to report in person within 48 hours to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (total bond set at $5,000, per a Global Positioning System monitoring order).

William Joseph Lamberson, 38, of Brooksville, FL, was arrested on a Citrus County warrant for 6 counts of possession of material harmful to a minor, and solicitation of a minor (total bond set at none).

Robert James Lewis, 33, of Ocala, FL, was arrested on a Citrus County warrant for 3 counts of possession of material harmful to a minor, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device ($10,000 bond).

Mark Lloyd Robinson, 36, of Aripeka, FL, was arrested on a Citrus County warrant for 3 counts of possession of material harmful to a minor (total bond set at none).

Ivy Tendler, 53, of Hernando, FL, was arrested on a Citrus County warrant for a sex offender violation: failure to report to a sheriff's office within 48 hours of vacating or relocating residence (bond set at none).

"Operation Cyber Springsting removed 15 despicable criminals from our streets and put them behind bars, far away from our children," said Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast. "Each committed acts detrimental to the safety of our community, some even going as far as to travel for several hours to meet up with a child to carry out heinous acts. I am proud of the exceptional partnership between our agency and the law enforcement agencies who assisted in bringing these disgraceful monsters to justice. Our HTCU will continue to work diligently to stop sexual predators from preying on our children."

If you suspect that a person is committing crimes against a child, please call the CCSO at (352) 249-2790 to report your suspicions, or use the "Submit a Tip" feature of the CCSO Sheriff's App (• see download links below) to make a report instantly. CCSO Sheriff's App users can look up sexual offenders in their area by clicking on the "Sexual Offenders" feature, which will show a photo of the offender; the offender's name, physical descriptors and address; and the approximate distance from the app user's location to the offender's address (if the app user's location setting is turned on).

• play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ocv.citruscountyflsheriff&pli=1

• apps.apple.com/us/app/citrus-county-sheriffs-office/id1481134574

SEE A VIDEO OF THE ARRESTS HERE:
facebook.com/SheriffCitrus/videos/434597635859104/