In a four-day sting spanning six public parks in Florida, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood and his team lurked around the brambles and brush to eventually capture 18 men cruising for sex.
Because this is Florida we’re talking about, several newspapers went ahead and published all 18 headshots of the men who were arrested, even including their full names and places of residence.
The News Journal reports undercover deputies would sit around on park benches and wait for men to approach.
Police reports allege the men would sit down and soon start talking about sex, “rub” the undercover deputies, or simply expose their genitalia and masturbate.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Related: Why Is One Cop So Obsessed With Luring Gay Men Into Public Restrooms To Arrest Them?
The men were all charged with indecent exposure and committing lewd acts.
Inexplicably, two men were charged with battery; one charged with battery only. Florida.
According to Chitwood, the men were aged 28-78. He also added this warning to horny park dwellers throughout Florida:
“If you insist in going in our parks and trails and engage in this type of despicable behavior you may find yourself in handcuffs. It’s important that we set the tone that our parks and trails are safe for families.”
Watch surreal coverage about the sting operation here:
ChrisK
I didn’t even know cruising parks were still a thing.
I don’t trust these cops though. What do you want to bet that the cops initiated it? They’ve been caught entrapping people time after time.
Kangol
There are still many people who like public sex and many who are closeted. In 2017. So yes, public sex is still a thing. As is harassment from cops who have nothing better to do, apparently.
JaredMacBride
No one who has merely been arrested should ever be publicly identified. Defeats the whole purpose of innocent until PROVEN guilty.
Bob LaBlah
Thats what I thought too.
Kangol
It’s to shame and humiliate them. In this case, it’s purely homophobic. The Volusia County sheriff is a scumbag for doing this.
CaliKyle
Not from a legal standpoint, unfortunately, unless one is a minor. Arrests do not equal convictions and such info is deemed public anyway. That said, most if not all of these particular arrests carry the stench of entrapment. But cops know those arrested for crimes that are sexual in nature usually do not put up a legal or public stink about their rights being violated – they’re called pigs for (often) good reasons.
Prax07
Bad timing after just yesterday publishing that article here promoting doing the exact same thing that got these guys arrested?
Will L
LOL Yeah, that other article left me totally speechless. And we wonder why guys are getting arrested in stings.
Mack
One would have to assume that this county has a ZERO crime rate and these officers have absolutely nothing to do with their time. It’s a waste of taxpayer’s dollars when I’m sure there is theft, murder, accidents, assaults and drug dealings going on. It’s nothing more than an anti-gay witch hunt.
NateOcean
Yeah, like when PeeWee Herman got arrested for masturbating in the back of an adult theatre by some deputies. Apparently when it’s a slow crime day, the cops were known to hang out there, on the taxpayer’s dime, looking for folks to harass.
Danny595
This is a crime, so the resources are not wasted. And it isn’t anti-gay. The vast majority of gay people don’t have sex in parks and the men who do often don’t identify as gay. This kind of activity is harmful to gay people so any crackdown by law enforcement is de facto pro-gay.
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
Don’t commit crimes and don’t ask for special privileges like being allowed to break laws. There problem solved for all 18.
captainburrito
Did any of them ask for special privileges?
BitterOldQueen
I agree. The assumption by the pearl-clutchers seems to be that we homos have a “special privilege” to engage in otherwise illegal public sex acts. Maybe thirty years ago when sodomy laws were common and marriage equality was laughable and there was no alternative forum for closeted men to seek company there was an odd sort of justification for cruising public bathrooms, but today it’s just stupid and risky on so many levels. That said, names shouldn’t be published until conviction; we have a presumption of innocence, but as soon as folks read that someone was arrested for something (particularly something as titillating as wienie-waggling), that door is closed tight.
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
I agree. The release of names could wait. However, you can google multiple cases where heterosexuals got busted in public having sex and their info got published too. So their names getting out was discrimination either.
DCguy
Remind me of how many times they go to the straight makeout points and stake them out.
CaliKyle
Sending cops into restrooms and parks to proposition – often aggressively – and make physical contact with other men is entrapment. If not but for said cops’ actions, no crime may have ever taken place. PDs want you to believe that they were silent, minding their own business, hands to themselves when the alleged crimes occurred. This is rarely accurate.
Paco
I wonder what the sex therapist, that was encouraging gay men to engage in this creepy behavior, has to say about this incident.
adrianjurado310
wait until the mouse gets in the house
Bradsman
Notice they’re all older. Young guys have aps. Older guys are still doing the old school rituals.
MommieDammit
“According to Chitwood, the men were aged 28-78″…
…what, are you 12?
fur_hunter
Hate to say it but park cruising is stupid as $H!T. Guys got arrested in Atlanta ALL the time and just couldn’t understand why. You can’t fix stupid. Rent a Motel room, IDIOTS! Much cheaper, in the long run, should you get caught in the park.
ChrisK
I got together with a guy in the JC Pennies bathroom one time. I stood in the shopping bag so it looked like only one person was in there. I met up with him again and this time I had a nice safe place to have sex. Nope. Completely disinterested unless it was in the bathroom.
MommieDammit
@ChrisK – some guys just have kinks. Been there, done that.
NateOcean
In one northern California city the police responded to a complaint of “sexual activity in the parking lot” at an adult book store. So they dressed up a rookie cop twink to lure guys. A dozen got charged, and eventually all the cases were dropped. (1) general entrapment, but better yet (2) only gays were targeted. The complain was “sex in the parking lot”. So why did they only target gay men? Case(s) dismissed.
Larry
Well this cop just doubled his contact list when he is horny!
Daniel-Reader
If the men were arrested and had only been talking about sex, then a massive First Amendment lawsuit should be launched against the department. It is not illegal to talk about sex just because some officers don’t like gay people talking about sex.
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
If you go into a bank and tell them you are going to rob them but don’t take any money, you still go to jail. The first only goes so far.
MommieDammit
@IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou – false equivalency. Just talking about sex is no offense in any state; it only gets to criminal status if a. you bring up payment (soliciting), b. you touch the person in “lewd” manner or areas, c. there are minors present and within earshot. The example you raise is the equivalent of yelling “FIRE” in a crowded theatre. The SCOTUS agreed with you on that level decades ago.
RamblingManNJ
And then Queerty does the same thing by posting their photos.
Chris
Ya beat me to it! Agreed.
Danny595
Am I supposed to feel bad for these guys? No, sorry I don’t. This kind of disgusting behavior is a relic from the past. There is no reason for anyone to be doing this, acting like an animal.
Bob LaBlah
The article says the officers just sat on the bench and waited for the guys to walk up and start talking. You know what? Had they poor guy pulled out a joint and merely handed it to the deputy without even hitting the joint the deputy could have added distribution of a controlled substance to the lewd conduct charge. Had a poor gay guy jumped off of his bike, ran into the bushes and took a quick wiz the officer could have charged him with indecent exposure regardless of whether he sat down on the bench or not.
You have no idea the powers a police officer has until you have seen an arrest that could have been you. I remember Defarra Gaymon and what happened to him in NJ back in 2010. His family sued and won a settlement in his death. Here’s the follow up to his tragic episode of cruising in the park and running into a frustrated officer.
http://www.ajc.com/news/suit-settled-after-shooting-death-atlanta-man-new-jersey/wO1bfcecArBqiE6IXjt5sJ/
abacun
Reminder that police departments have a history of lying by underplaying their entrapment http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2016/05/long_beach_police_rebuked_for_illegal_anti_gay_stings.html
Me2
This is horrible. I feel bad for these men. I’ve had some great sex at cruising spots and know just how exciting & alluring they can be. So, I’m not going to climb up on a soap box and chastise these men for flirting with danger and getting caught. We’ve all taken risks.
Billysees
” This is horrible. I feel bad for these men. ”
I well understand your comment. Been there and done that too.
The worse thing here is that, as the article stated —
‘…several newspapers went ahead and published all 18 headshots of the men who were arrested, even including their full names and places of residence.’
That’s a very dangerous thing to do as their jobs and their futures and their personal safety could easily be at risk.
They called the men’s activities ‘despicable behavior’. But exposing their names and addresses is the real ‘despicable behavior’.
KaiserVonScheiss
No. Don’t have sex in a park.
dwes09
You have no idea what these men were actually doing, though i realize that you would find a host of things repellent in public if done by gay men that would not raise your hackles were they done by straight couples.
Folks like you think men holding hands in public is forcing themselves down other’s throats. God forbid they should discuss consensual sex with another man in public, or touch another man!
There is a long and sad history of entrapment of gay men by homophobic police where there is no equivalent concern with the public activities of heterosexuals. And a long history of trumped up charges where the only sex was the suggestion that the arrested person wanted it. And countless stores of men driven to suicide by this kind of irresponsible action by police.
But it is foolish to expect understanding of reality from the king of shit or any of the other regressive trolls here.
ChrisK
You can see them looking down on the guys from the start of the newscast. Disgusting, etc. I see a bunch of homophobic assholes out looking to bust some fags. They won’t be bothered with trivial details like following guidelines either.
dinard38
Don’t want to go to jail? Don’t have sex in public. I’ve NEVER understood the thrill of having public sex. I would never take that kind of risk.
Herman75
Not that it has anything to do with the harassment, but doesn’t it always seem it’s the Repubs getting caught in the motel with boys, or sucking dick in the park?
He BGB
This is Daytona Beach. I bet it’s there where that outdoor theatre is. Anyway, I agree it’s a shame they still do this in parks, a shame police have nothing better to do. There are “busted” papers that show mugshots, names and what they were arrested for, in city newsstands. Straight and gay. Twenty is quite busy. Must have been a Saturday night. If these guys are married and in the closet their wives would see the apps on their phones. And like someone mentioned, it’s a fetish, too.
Richard 55
This is unfair entrapment. I wonder if the authorities go after heterosexual pairings in this way.
I note that Fox published the photos of the men. Why? Why don’t we look into the sex life of Fox owner Rupert Murdoch and see what we can find.
gaym50ish
What I want to know is, how many of these guys are in conventional marriages. Seems to me it’s always the “straight” married men who are cruising.