The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a 21-year-old volunteer with the Osceola Response Team following an undercover online child exploitation investigation.
Deputies say the case began when the Sheriff’s Office was notified about online messages between an adult male and a 10-year-old girl. While the initial conversations did not meet the threshold for criminal charges, investigators believed the suspect was attempting to “groom” the minor while posing as an 11-year-old boy. Detectives later confirmed the suspect first met the child while delivering food to her home through the nonprofit.
The Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit launched an undercover peer-to-peer investigation, posing online as an 11-year-old girl. During the operation, the suspect, identified as Alberto “AJ” Castaner Jr., 21, solicited nude images, engaged in sexual conversations, and sent multiple photographs of his genitals.
With assistance from the SWAT Team, deputies executed a search warrant at Castaner’s residence and workplace. Several electronic devices were seized and will be forensically examined.
Castaner now faces 10 felony charges, including:
-
Eight counts of transmission of harmful material to a minor
-
One count of solicitation of a minor
-
One count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device
He was booked into the Osceola County Jail with a $25,000 bond.
The Sheriff’s Office is urging anyone with information about this case or other possible incidents to call (407) 348-2222.
