Florida deputy arrested for sending porn to 9-year-old girl and luring her through online game
A Florida deputy sheriff was arrested and charged recently after investigations revealed he had sent pornographic images to a young girl.
According to a press release by the Polk County Sheriff's Office, 41-year-old Cansas Sadler Jr. was arrested in Shalimar in Okaloosa County on Wednesday, June 19, following a joint investigation by the PCSO and OCSO which found he had sent pornographic images to a nine-year-old Winter Haven girl.
Sadler is said to have made contact with the victim by sending her a direct message to her cell phone through an online interactive mobile game called 'The Wolf'. He then allegedly pretended to be an 11-year-old girl named Jade and an adult male named Jason in order to manipulate the victim into sending nude images of herself and to meet up for sexual intercourse.
Messages between Sadler and the victim began on the morning of June 8 and ended in the afternoon of June 9 after the 41-year-old called her phone and her mother answered. The mother subsequently found that he had sent the nine-year-old three pornographic images, as well as numerous messages that were sexually explicit and reported the incident to the police, leading to Sadler's arrest.
Speaking about the case at a press conference, PCSO Sheriff Grady Judd said, "I'm disgusted — as a parent, law enforcement officer, and a human being… that a guy, A DEPUTY SHERIFF, would manipulate a young child and expose her to this."
"I commend the work of our detectives, Okaloosa County detectives, and everyone else involved who helped put this miscreant in jail," he continued, adding, "Let this be a reminder to parents that they need to closely oversee their child’s online activity, and to everyone else that we will not tolerate anyone preying on our children."
The OCSO confirmed that Sadler, who has been married since 2002 and has two children, was immediately terminated from his position with the office following his arrest. They revealed that the 41-year-old had retired from the US Army prior to being hired and that he was still in new-hire probationary status with the agency since he only joined them in July 2018.
In a statement addressing his arrest, Okaloosa County Sheriff Larry Ashley said, "I'm always disheartened when someone sworn to serve and protect commits any crime, much less crimes of this nature. It’s an affront to all the hard-working, dedicated law enforcement officers who work tirelessly each day to keep our citizens safe."
Sadler was booked into the Okaloosa County Jail on charges of using a computer to solicit a minor, a third-degree felony, misrepresenting age during solicitation of a minor, a second-degree felony, and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony, a third-degree felony.
The PCSO has also charged Sadler with seven counts of transmitting material harmful to a minor, which is a third-degree felony.