- April 24, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
The arrests were the result of two separate undercover operations.
BY MATT MENCARINI | STAFF WRITER
Two Ormond Beach men were arrested within a couple days of each other, in separate undercover operations to find and apprehend online sex predators.
William Fahner, 54, of 224 Seminole Drive, was arrested March 21, after he drove to a Daytona Beach location where, according to reports, he believed he would be having unlawful sexual activity with a child.
He was in possession of a firearm, a machete, duct tape and rope upon his arrest.
Vincent Yedynak, 38, of 995 S. Nova Drive, was arrested as part of St. Johns County's Operation No Soliciting, which resulted in 15 total arrests within five days. He was charged with, among others things, use of a computer service to seduce/solicit a child, and was being held on $150,000 bond.
Fahner was charged with use of a computer to seduce/solicit/lure a child and possession of a firearm while committing a felony, after Daytona Beach police found a loaded Glock semi-automatic handgun in his vehicle's center console.
He was being held on $75,000 bond.
Fahner respond to a Craigslist ad, posted by an undercover officer posing as the girl’s father, and discussed in several detailed emails the nature of the proposed encounter. He also agreed to a time and place to meet.
After his arrest, Fahner told police he only intended to meet the person he thought was a father “pimping out” his daughter, in order to help the girl. He confirmed to police, however, that he had exchanged sexually explicit emails with the undercover officer.
Fahner also admitted to police that he had been chatting online with another young girl who was looking for sex, but who stopped talking to him.
He told police he used a laptop to send the emails, but denied consent to search his home for the computer.
“I can’t allow that,” he told police. “If you search my home, it will just open other doors, and I can’t handle that right now.”
The 15 individuals arrested, March 13-17, as a result of Operation No Soliciting, contacted an undercover officer posing as a parent or minor online.
They each visited a home in northwest St. Johns County, according to police, with the intention of participating in sexual activity with children between the ages of 13 and 14. They were arrested on arrival.
It was the second sting of its kind held in St. Johns County the past two years.
Multiple agencies participated in the operation under the auspices of the North Florida Internet Crimes against Children Task Force, including the FBI; the U.S. Marshall's task force; the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; the Office of the State Attorney 7th Judicial Circuit; the sheriff's offices of St. Johns, Alachua, Volusia, Clay and Brevard counties; and the Gainesville, Daytona Beach and Tallahassee police departments.
Megan Hoye, of the Palm Coast Observer, contributed to this report.
