Dozens of Orlando, Florida theme park employees have been arrested on charges involving child sex crimes since 2006, a six-month investigation from CNN has revealed.
Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando have all had workers arrested for alleged possession of child pornography, trying to meet minors for sex and other sex crimes. A total of 35 employees were arrested from Disney World alone, including security guards, maintenance workers and gift shop employees, according to police records obtained by the station.
"Wherever you find children, you'll find sexual predators that want to be there," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told CNN.
Five arrested workers were from Universal Studios and another two were from SeaWorld. None of the alleged sex crimes involved minors visiting the theme parks.
Some arrests were made during undercover operations police set up to lure the suspects. One Disney employee, Robert Kingsolver, was arrested after he arrived at what he though was the home of a 14-year-old girl. Kingslover told CNN he had no intentions of having sex with the minor and that he was going to call the cops as soon as he arrived.
The 49-year-old pled not guilty to soliciting a child for sexual acts and traveling to meet a minor for unlawful sexual activity.
"My life is ruined," Kingslover told the station.
Thirty-two park employees have so far been convicted. The rest of the cases are still pending.
A Disney spokeswoman said CNN's findings represent a tiny percentage of the park's employees and that the company has a rigorous hiring process
"We have extensive measures in place, including pre-employment and ongoing criminal background checks and computer monitoring and firewalls," spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler told the station. "The numbers reported by CNN represent one one-hundredth of one percent of the 300,000 people we have employed during this time period."
Wahler said Disney is cooperating fully with law enforcement throughout their investigations.
