Arrests highlight National Safer Internet Day on Tuesday
Billyjack Thibodeau has been arrested following an investigation by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit after authorities received an escalated cyber tip involving child sexual abuse material. (Photo/Osceola County Sheriff's Office)
The Sheriff’s Office is spending Tuesday, National Safer Internet Day, highlighting tips and other safety material for parents to explore. The message was for parents to have a vested interest in the time their children spend online instead of seeing phones, tablets and social media as “digital nannies.”
“They’re not babysitters, they’re doorways to strangers and content your children may not be ready for, conversations you’re not part of,” Sheriff Chris Blackmon said in an OCSO Facebook message. “A game can quickly become manipulation; a photo can become cyberbullying. Please, know what your children are watching, sharing and to whom they’re talking to. Most importantly, stay present in your child’s daily life. When it comes to your child’s safety, no device can replace a parent.
“Be your child’s cybernanny … or someone else may be.”
“Our hope is to make parents aware of the ongoing dangers that children face while they are online,” Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Kim Montes said.
These cases highlight their efforts.
Kissimmee man charged with child sexual abuse material charges
A Kissimmee man has been arrested following an investigation by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit after authorities received an escalated cyber tip involving child sexual abuse material.
According to the Sheriff’s office, detectives were notified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children of an escalated CyberTip report alleging that an individual was in possession of child sexual abuse material. Upon receiving the alert, ICAC detectives immediately began an investigation.
On Feb. 6, detectives served a residential search warrant at a home in the Broadmoor Mobile Home Park in Kissimmee. During the search, investigators identified the suspect as Billyjack Thibodeau, 46.
Detectives located several electronic devices belonging to Thibodeau. Based on evidence obtained during the forensic examination of those devices, Thibodeau was charged with 25 counts of possession of a photo or video depicting the sexual performance of a child, as well as unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
Thibodeau was arrested and booked into the Osceola County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
North Carolina man arrested for traveling to meet Osceola minor for sex
A North Carolina man has been arrested in Orange County after Orange and Osceola County detectives say he drove from his state to pick up a 12-year-old girl in Osceola County and took her to an Orange County hotel.
Edar Fabricio Dejesus-Matheu, 22, was arrested and charged with traveling to meet a minor for unlawful sexual activity and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office charged Dejesus-Matheu with lewd or lascivious molestation of a minor 12 years of age. He is currently in the Orange County jail and pending further charges in Osceola County, Florida.
On Jan. 31, Osceola deputies responded to a report of a missing 12-year-old girl, whose parents believed she was spending the night at a friend’s house in the neighborhood. The following day, the parents became concerned when their daughter stopped answering phone calls and text messages and contacted the Sheriff’s Office to report her missing.
Detectives tracked the girl’s phone to an Orange County hotel, where she was located in a vehicle with Dejesus-Matheu.
Through an interview, investigators learned the two met on social media and communicated for several months planning their meet up. They say Dejesus-Matheu traveled to Osceola County, picked up the child and drove her to the hotel in Orange County. Through the investigation with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations division, Osceola investigators determined Dejesus-Matheu engaged in lewd and lascivious molestation.
