A former Walt Disney World character performer who once dressed as Mickey Mouse was among 281 people arrested in a seven-day Florida child predator and human trafficking operation, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said. The suspect, 24-year-old Collin Klaco of Clermont, is accused of trying to meet a 13-year-old boy for sexual activity. The case drew a sharp reaction from Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who wrote on X that Disney needs to do a better job of vetting employees.
Trigger warning: This story includes details from a child predator investigation. Reader discretion is advised.
Klaco was no longer working at Disney when the arrest happened, Sheriff Grady Judd said. The wider operation still swept up 13 current Disney employees and four Universal Studios employees, according to the sheriff. The mix of a famous family brand, a former Mickey Mouse character performer and a sitting congresswoman’s comment turned a local sting into a national entertainment and political story.
What deputies say happened
The arrest was announced Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, at a press conference for Operation Polk Around and Find Out II. The seven-day, multi-agency operation targeted people who travel to meet children for unlawful sexual activity, along with prostitution and human trafficking.
Klaco communicated online with an undercover detective who was posing as the guardian of a 13-year-old boy, according to the sheriff’s office. Investigators say he discussed sexual acts involving the child and expressed interest in meeting at a public family restroom. He drove to an undercover location in Polk County, where detectives took him into custody.
Deputies said they found diapers and wipes in a backpack he brought to the location. Klaco told detectives he used to dress up as Mickey Mouse at Walt Disney World, the sheriff’s office said. The agency’s arrest list gives his date of birth as March 2, 2002, which made him 24 at the time of the announcement.
He faces four felony charges:
- Traveling to meet a minor, a second-degree felony
- Use of a computer to solicit a guardian, a third-degree felony
- Use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony, a third-degree felony
- Attempted lewd or lascivious battery on a minor, a third-degree felony
Judd described Klaco in blunt terms at the press conference.
“He may be the sickest, nastiest person we’ve ever arrested,” Judd said, according to WFLA. “Yeah, that’s correct.”
The sheriff also made clear that Klaco was not a Disney employee when the alleged conduct happened.
“I want to point out that he was no longer employed at Disney when this happened, but he was very proud to tell us that he at one time was a Mickey Mouse character,” Judd said. “Well, now he’s a jailbird character, and that’s where he needs to be.”
That distinction matters. Luna’s post focused on Disney’s vetting, but the most serious allegations against Klaco involve a former worker, not a current one. The wider operation did include current Disney staff, which is why the company stayed in the story.
The wider sting and the Disney link
The Polk County operation produced 281 arrests and 488 charges, including 198 felonies and 290 misdemeanors, according to the sheriff’s office. Of those arrests, 31 were tied to child sex predator investigations, 239 were related to prostitution offenses and 11 were for other offenses. Investigators also identified 11 human trafficking victims and offered them services.
17 of the suspects told detectives they worked at local theme parks or resorts, including Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. Seven of those 17 were child sex predator suspects. The sheriff’s office said 13 worked for Disney and four worked for Universal.
Disney cooperated with investigators and told the sheriff’s office it had fired the employees who were arrested, Judd said. Universal also fired the workers tied to the operation, according to Fox 13. CBS News said it contacted both companies for further comment.
Detectives seized 24 firearms during the operation, and nine suspects were on probation, Fox 13 reported.
Other current Disney-linked arrests in the same operation included Adam Snyder, Alex Camacho and Colin Gormican, according to the sheriff’s arrest list. Snyder told detectives he worked in Toy Story Land, and investigators found part of his Disney uniform and employee badge in his vehicle, the sheriff’s office said. Camacho said he worked in Disney food services. Gormican said he worked at the Slinky Dog Dash attraction.
Their cases, like Klaco’s, are allegations. No conviction has been reported for any of the suspects. All are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Anna Paulina Luna calls for better vetting
Anna Paulina Luna represents Florida’s 13th Congressional District. After the arrest list became public, she posted about the case on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Disney needs to do a better job of vetting their employees,” Luna wrote, according to Soap Central. “This is not the first time this has happened.”
The post did not draw a line between current and former employees. It also did not outline a specific bill or policy change. The focus was on Disney’s hiring checks and the company’s responsibility as a family entertainment brand.
Luna’s “not the first time” line has context. In March 2022, four Disney employees were among 108 people arrested in a Polk County human trafficking operation called “Operation March Sadness 2,” CBS News reported. One of those employees, a lifeguard at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, was accused of sending inappropriate messages and photos to an undercover detective posing as a 14-year-old girl. Disney placed three employees on unpaid leave at the time, CBS News reported.
The first “Polk Around and Find Out” operation in May 2026 led to 266 arrests, including 19 child sex predator suspects, according to the sheriff’s office. The second operation in October produced a larger headline number and brought the Disney link back into focus.
The former Mickey Mouse link
Mickey Mouse is the face of Disney’s family-friendly image. A person who once wore the Mickey costume at Walt Disney World being tied to a child predator case is the kind of detail that travels fast online, even when the person is no longer with the company.
The sheriff’s office did not say when Klaco worked at Disney or what kind of role he had beyond dressing as Mickey Mouse. The agency’s list says he told detectives about the former job after his arrest. Public reports did not include a timeline from Disney about when Klaco left the company.
For viewers, the key fact is the word “former.” Klaco was not a current Disney employee at the time of the alleged offense, according to Judd. The current employees arrested in the same operation were fired after the company was contacted by investigators, the sheriff said.
That does not erase the broader questions about hiring and workplace screening. It does mean the Klaco case is not a simple story about a current Disney worker. It is a story about a former character performer, a wider sting and a congresswoman using the arrest to argue that a major company should do more.
What Disney and Universal have said
Sheriff Judd said Disney cooperated with law enforcement and told his office it had fired the employees who were arrested. Universal also fired the workers connected to the operation, Fox 13 reported.
CBS News said it reached out to both companies for further comment. The sheriff’s account is the main public description of Disney’s response in the immediate reports.
The charges and legal status
Klaco’s four charges are all felonies. A second-degree felony in Florida can carry a prison sentence, and the third-degree charges are also serious. The charges are accusations, not proof of guilt. No conviction has been reported in the public coverage of the case.
The wider operation involved multiple agencies, including the Florida Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida Department of Financial Services and several local police and sheriff’s offices. The sheriff’s office released its full arrest list on Oct. 30, 2026.
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Disney’s current employees who were arrested are no longer with the company, according to the sheriff. Klaco’s case is a former-employee case, and the legal process is still at an early stage.
Sources
- Polk County Sheriff’s Office official release, Oct. 30, 2026
- WFLA report on Collin Klaco
- ClickOrlando full arrest list
- CBS News on Disney and Universal employees
- Fox 13 report on firings
- Soap Central report on Anna Paulina Luna’s post
- CBS News 2022 Polk County operation
- Polk County Sheriff’s Office May 2026 release
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