{"id":443864,"date":"2026-10-31T23:16:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T23:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/443864\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T23:16:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T23:16:21","slug":"hillsborough-deputies-arrest-30-sex-offenders-during-operation-scarecrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/443864\/","title":{"rendered":"Hillsborough deputies arrest 30 sex offenders during ‘Operation Scarecrow’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"30 \"30 30 sex offenders arrested ahead of Halloween <\/a> <\/p>\n

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested 30 registered sex offenders in October as part of “Operation Scarecrow,” an effort to ensure compliance with registration and probation requirements ahead of Halloween.<\/p>\n

TAMPA, Fla. – The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested 30 registered sex offenders in October as part of “Operation Scarecrow,” an effort to ensure compliance with registration and probation requirements ahead of Halloween.<\/p>\n

Hillsborough sex offender arrests <\/p>\n

By the numbers:<\/p>\n

Detectives conducted compliance checks on 1,202 registered sex offenders living in unincorporated Hillsborough County during the operation, according to the sheriff’s office.<\/p>\n

During the final week before Halloween, the agency partnered with the Florida Department of Corrections and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to verify that offenders lived at their registered addresses and followed the conditions of their registration, supervision and probation.<\/p>\n

Sheriff Chad Chronister also went door to door with detectives, including visits to offenders convicted of sexual battery on a child younger than 12.<\/p>\n

“There is nothing more important than safeguarding children in our community,” Chronister said. “Our efforts ensured these offenders were in compliance, and those who were in violation went back to jail.”<\/p>\n

What are the rules for sex offenders on probation during Halloween? <\/p>\n

Why you should care:<\/p>\n

Offenders on probation or supervision are prohibited from participating in Halloween activities, according to the sheriff’s office. They cannot pass out candy, display Halloween decorations or leave their porch lights on.<\/p>\n

HCSO said violations of those restrictions can lead to arrest.<\/p>\n

Other registration violations uncovered during the operation included failing to register a vehicle kept on the property, failing to obtain a driver’s license reflecting an updated address and failing to report for registration within the required time frame.<\/p>\n

Notable arrests during \u2018Operation Scarecrow\u2019 <\/p>\n

Dig deeper:<\/p>\n

Reginald Walker, 69<\/p>\n

On Monday, HCSO detectives, FDOC and FDLE conducted a compliance check on registered sexual predator Reginald Walker at a home in the 1000 block of Johnson Pointe Drive in Plant City.<\/p>\n

Walker is required to carry a Florida identification card displaying the words “Sexual Predator” on the front. Detectives said they found that he had used a white covering to hide the designation.<\/p>\n

Investigators also found several unregistered internet identifiers on social media platforms and an email address that had not been reported to FDOC or FDLE, according to the sheriff’s office.<\/p>\n

Walker was arrested and faces the following charges:<\/p>\n

Violation of probation for unlawful internet activityTwo counts of failing to register a phone number as a sexual offenderNine counts of failing to register an internet identifier as a sexual offenderPossession of an altered driver’s license by a sexual predator <\/p>\n

HCSO said Walker is a three-time convicted felon with previous convictions that include sexual battery with a weapon or force, robbery, grand theft of a motor vehicle and violation of probation.<\/p>\n

Robert Williamson, 60<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, detectives conducted a compliance check on registered sexual predator Robert Williamson at a home in the 1400 block of York Street in Brandon.<\/p>\n

Williamson was found with two cellphones. A search of one phone revealed that he had installed and was using an app to engage in sexual conversations with AI-generated female children, in violation of his probation, according to the sheriff’s office.<\/p>\n

Detectives confirmed Williamson did not have access to any victims and found no evidence of unreported offenses, the agency said.<\/p>\n

Williamson was arrested on a charge of violating probation by using prohibited programs.<\/p>\n

HCSO said Williamson is a five-time convicted felon with previous convictions that include sexual battery on a victim younger than 12, lewd and lascivious molestation and violation of probation as a sex offender.<\/p>\n

Who was arrested during Operation Scarecrow? <\/p>\n

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office identified the following 30 people as having been arrested during Operation Scarecrow. The charges listed below are based on information provided by the agency.<\/p>\n

Dennis Deal, 68: Violation of probation for unlawful internet activity; failure to register a phone number as a sexual offender; failure to register an internet identifier as a sexual offender.Jose Alonso, 60: Violation of probation for unlawful internet activity.Justin Laing, 34: Violation of probation for unlawful internet activity; two counts of failing to register a phone number as a sexual offender; four counts of failing to register an internet identifier.Edwin Preciado, 37: Violation of probation for unlawful internet activity; failure to register a phone number as a sexual offender; eight counts of failing to register an internet identifier.Michael Miller, 58: Violation of probation for unlawful possession of an unreported cellphone; failure to register a phone number as a sexual offender.Reginald Walker, 69: Violation of probation for unlawful internet activity; two counts of failing to register a phone number as a sexual offender; nine counts of failing to register an internet identifier; possession of an altered driver’s license by a sexual predator.Sonny Gyger, 45: Violation of probation for failing to report a change in vehicles owned; failure to report a change in vehicles owned.David Micciche, 61: Violation of probation for an unreported internet identifier; two counts of failing to report an internet identifier.Robert Williamson, 60: Violation of probation for using prohibited programs.Hector Harold Cabrera, 38: Violation of probation for failing to report a passport; two counts of providing false information after registration; failure to report a passport.Nicolaus Copernicus Morris, 57: Violation of probation for unlawful possession of an unreported cellphone; eight counts of failing to register an internet identifier; failure to register a phone number.Justin Bowen, 27: Violation of probation for unlawful internet activity.Charles Freeman, 60: Failure to report an internet identifier.Alberto Rivera Claudio, 51: Violation of probation for failing to report a change in vehicles owned; failure to report a change in vehicles owned; nine counts of providing false information after registration.David Moreno, 53: Failure to report a change in vehicles owned.Joseph Tillman, 30: Violation of probation for unlawful internet activity.Celestino Gonzalez, 38: Failure to report for driver’s license or identification card renewal; failure to report within 48 hours of vacating a residence.Dasmond Brannon, 41: Failure to report for driver’s license or identification card renewal; failure to report within 48 hours of vacating a residence; failure to register changes in phone numbers; failure to report a change in vehicles owned within 48 hours.Oshay Jefferson, 44: Failure to register changes in phone numbers; two counts related to employment or education enrollment.Manuel Delgado, 80: Violation of residency restrictions by a convicted sexual offender.Savannah Henderson, 26: Two counts of failing to comply with sexual offender registration requirements.Otis Chestnut, 35: Failure to report a change in vehicles owned within 48 hours; felon in possession of a firearm.Michael Lablance, 73: Failure to report as a sexual offender.Dontavious Drew, 44: Three counts of failing to report every 30 days as a sexual offender maintaining a transient residence.Rex Roth, 77: Failure to report biannually as a sex offender.Brian Streeter, 54: Violation of probation for traveling to meet a minor after using computer services to solicit certain illegal acts; failure to report as a sex offender.John Yancey, 46: Failure to report biannually as a sex offender.Michael McMullen, 73: Three counts of failing to report a change in vehicles owned within 48 hours; 10 counts of providing false information after registration.Daniel Munive Viruet, 42: Violation of probation for unlawful internet activity.Darius Ford, 28: Failure to report for driver’s license or identification card renewal; failure to report within 48 hours of vacating a residence; two counts of failing to report a change in vehicles owned within 48 hours; 10 counts of providing false information after registration; possession of a controlled substance; possession of drug paraphernalia. How to check for registered sex offenders in your neighborhood <\/p>\n

What you can do:<\/p>\n

Parents and other residents can search for registered sex offenders and predators in their neighborhoods through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s online database<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Source: The information in this story was provided by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.<\/p>\n

Hillsborough County<\/a>Crime and Public Safety<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"30 sex offenders arrested ahead of Halloween The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested 30 registered sex offenders in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":443865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[630,47,629,115,135,137,136,628],"class_list":["post-443864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-crime-publicsafety","tag-fl","tag-hillsborough","tag-news","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}