Florida officials said 163 children found in Florida were rescued during Operation Statewide Shield, a five-day effort led by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with Special Counsel for Human Trafficking Rita Peters. James Uthmeier said the operation produced “the successful recovery of 163 missing children” and three arrests.
The children ranged in age from 2 months to 17 years old. Officials said recoveries were largest in Tampa Bay, with 46 children, and Miami, with 41. Jacksonville accounted for 32 recoveries, Orlando for 21, Fort Myers for 12, Pensacola for 8 and Tallahassee for 3.
Operation Statewide Shield
Uthmeier described Operation Statewide Shield as “the first statewide child recovery effort and the largest operation of its kind in Florida history.” Officials said the task force ran sub-operations in Pensacola, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Fort Myers and Miami, and that the effort reached six U.S. states, Puerto Rico and 12 foreign countries.
The foreign countries named in the report were Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominica, Finland, Ghana, Guatemala, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Spain and Taiwan. That breadth shows the casework moved across jurisdictions while the recoveries were still being counted inside Florida.
Michael Prescott and the arrests
Michael Prescott was arrested on Aug. 21 by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and faced three counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, one count of felony battery and one count of aggravated assault. Officials said he also had an active warrant for interference with child custody.
Robert Ferral Allison was arrested on Aug. 20 by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a victim 12 to 16 years old. Jayden Allen Harwood was arrested on charges of interference in a child custody case and resisting officers without violence.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier
Officials said many of the recovered children were victims of human trafficking, and investigators used strategies from previous federal law enforcement initiatives, including Operations Dragon Eye and Home for the Holidays. The same announcement said prosecutors will pursue maximum sentences, including the death penalty where applicable for child sex abusers.
Investigations remain open, and more arrests are expected as investigators work through the people and cases tied to the children recovered in Florida and beyond.
