According to authorities, 108 people were caught in a human trafficking network, three of whom were Disney workers and another was a retired judge. Another suspect was purportedly a Disney employee, however the company disputed this while acknowledging that the other three suspects were indeed Disney workers.

“The arrests of a human trafficker and four child predators alone make this whole operation worthwhile,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd remarked. “Where there is prostitution, there is exploitation, disease, dysfunction, and broken families.”

The arrests were made as part of “Operation March Sadness 2,” in which officers identified prostitutes putting online adverts on various websites and even social media. They were on the lookout for persons who wanted to meet with prostitutes. The police also identified persons they suspected were communicating inappropriately with youngsters.

The undercover cops would converse with the suspects before agreeing to meet them at a random place and arresting them.

According to reports, four Disney workers were among the people arrested. Xavier Jackson, 27, worked for Walt Disney as a lifeguard at the Polynesian Resort. According to Judd, Jackson communicated indecent images and texts to an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old girl. Three counts of distributing harmful material to a juvenile and one count of unauthorized communication were filed against him.

Wilkason Fidele, 24, who worked at Walt Disney World’s Tomorrowland’s Cosmic Restaurant for four years; Shubham Malave, 27, who is on a visa citizenship from India and worked as a software developer for Disney; and Ralph Leese, 45, who spent nearly four years working in IT for Disney, were the three others accused of attempting to solicit a prostitute.

Leese, Fidele, and Jackson were placed on unpaid leave by Disney, while Malave does not work for the company.