TAMPA, Fla. — During an undercover operation, Hillsborough County officers caught 32 men, including a U.S. Air Force staff sergeant stationed in Tampa. The goal of the operation was to catch criminals who try to take advantage of young people.
In January and March 2023, Hillsborough County officers worked undercover by joining online chats and, in two cases, posting fake ads as a father looking for a child online.
In one of these cases, deputies nabbed U.S. Air Force staff sergeant Jacob Dwayne Reid, who was 31 years old and thought he was talking to a 15-year-old girl. Instead, deputies said he was talking to undercover detectives. They caught him at a hotel in Tampa, where he was living while on temporary duty at MacDill Air Force Base.
Sheriff Chad Chronister said, “There is no greater disappointment than the betrayal of a man who swore to protect our nation.” “No one is above the law, no matter who they are or what their job is. If you come to Hillsborough County with the intention of taking advantage of our children, you will be arrested.”
Detectives also caught Muntasir Shafiq, 36, of Lutz. He was charged with 30 counts of sending harmful material to a child in 2021.
Chronister said, “This was neither a mistake nor a slip of the mind.” “This man has tried more than once to have sexual contact with children. His plans are just as bad and evil as the messages he sent to our agents.”
Shafiq is now being charged with sending harmful material to a minor and breaking the law by using a two-way contact device.
Chronsiter told would-be criminals who might be thinking about committing a crime with a child, “As Sheriff, I can promise you that my team and I are committed to keeping our community safe, especially our children. People who want to take advantage of others in such a ruthless way are not wanted in Hillsborough County. They won’t be able to get away with such awful acts.”
