POLK COUNTY, Fla. – Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd faces a lawsuit after a man was arrested on charges of possessing child pornography in 2020, according to court records filed on Tuesday.
The lawsuit says that the sheriff’s office had started an investigation dubbed “Operation Guardians of Innocence V” back in October 2019, during which detectives searched for suspects in possession of child pornography.
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After months of investigation, deputies said that Edgardo Cancela — who lived in Davenport with his wife and two children — had been arrested in the operation on charges of possessing and promoting child pornography.
Investigators explained that the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children had submitted tips about a Facebook user named “Austin Rose” who had uploaded images and videos of child pornography.
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While Cancela denied possessing any such material, detectives said they found “files depicting child pornography with pre-pubescent victims.”
However, a lawsuit filed by Cancela and his wife against Judd states that no evidence of child pornography was found during a search warrant on the couple’s property. Their children also told investigators that they had never been touched inappropriately,
The lawsuit says that Cancela and his family had stopped using the phone number suspected in the investigation in 2018 — around a year before deputies received the NCMEC’s tips about the child pornography case.
During the search, Deputy Sean Jones demanded Cancela provide a passcode to unlock his and his wife’s cell phones, but after Cancela asked to call his lawyer first to confirm it was OK to do so, Jones decided to arrest Cancela on the child pornography charges, the lawsuit says.
Following the arrest, Judd publicly spoke about the operation, distributing Cancela’s name and address to local media. Cancela was put on suicide watch while in jail over the accusations, the lawsuit claims.
Even after being released from jail, Cancela was not allowed to see his wife and children, nor was he allowed to live under the same roof, according to the lawsuit.
Court records show that the case was dismissed, and the charges against Cancela were ultimately dropped in October 2022.
The lawsuit accuses Jones of making a false arrest, malicious prosecution and defamation in the case. It also takes aims at Judd over his role in Cancela’s arrest and prosecution.
News 6 has reached out to the sheriff’s office for a statement and is awaiting a response.
The full lawsuit can be read by scrolling down to the media viewer below.
Complaint Full Copy -Filed by Anthony Talcott on Scribd
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