15 men arrested in Polk sex sting

Polk County sheriff's deputies completed a sweep of suspected sex offenders over the weekend, nabbing 15 men trying to meet girls as young as 8 for sex, authorities said.

One of the men was recognized by an undercover sergeant as being his child's youth baseball coach in Lakeland.

The coach knocked on the door and the "look was priceless," said Polk Sheriff Grady Judd at a Monday news conference. "Instead of a 12- or 13-year-old girl in lingerie as he requested, there were sheriff's detectives."

Judd said the shock reached the other side of the door as well. "The undercover sergeant recognized him as his child's youth baseball coach," he said.

The coach, Tommy Dupre, 33, had sent 240 separate
e-mails to the person whom he thought was a child, Judd said.

"He was on a mission to have sex," he said. Dupre was charged with traveling to entice a child into sex. He was released Sunday on $25,000 bail, records show.

Those charged included men from Brandon, Plant City, Tampa and Orlando.

Twelve of the 15 responded to advertisements placed in the "casual meetings" section of Craigslist by undercover Polk deputies. Some posed as mothers "seeking guidance" for their children; others looked for "discreet family encounters," sheriff's deputies said.

Some defendants had made contact with the undercover deputies in various Internet chat rooms.

The men who responded to the ad expressed an interest in engaging in sexual activity with girls from 8 to 14 years old, Judd said. The men ranged in age from 18 to 67-year-old Donald Knuckles, Judd said.

Judd said that Knuckles told deputies that he had looked forward to having sex with the 14-year-old girl and her mother.

" 'This is what I've waited a lifetime for,' " Judd quoted Knuckles as saying.

Knuckles was charged with traveling to entice a child into sex, using the computer to seduce a child and attempted lewd conduct. He remained in Polk County Jail on Monday with bail set at $100,000.

Judd termed the operation a success, but said it was a shock to him, that after 11 previous operations targeting offenders seeking sex with children, there are those out there who show up with "condoms in one hand and candy bars in the other."

One defendant brought a bag of Skittles. Another brought vodka and Red Bull, Judd said.

"These are as absolutely disgusting as any we've ever arrested," Judd said. "One got down on his knees in the bedroom we were using as an interview room, with his hands together to pray. I supposed he was praying for forgiveness, unfortunately he didn't pray in advance to mend his evil ways and not show up."

Judd said six of the 15 men are married and one has six children and a pregnant wife.