Uthmeier's Historic Operation ‘Dragon Eye’ Follows New Law Allowing Death for Child Traffickers

TALLAHASSEE—Days after Gov. Ron DeSantis approved a new law allowing the death penalty for child sex traffickers, Attorney General James Uthmeier coordinated a historic effort to rescue 60 missing kids from abuse.

Uthmeier spoke to The Floridian in a phone interview about the two-week-long “Operation Dragon Eye,” the largest child recovery mission in the history of the U.S. Marshals Service.

60 missing children, ages 9 to 17, were found across three counties and saved from abuse, trafficking, or endangerment by 20 federal, state, and local agencies. About 15 had been sex trafficked.

While Uthmeier doesn’t know whether Florida's new anti-trafficking law—which takes effect Oct. 1—can be applied to any of the eight suspects arrested Monday, he supports the nation’s most severe punishment in cases where “we have the authority.”

“If we have the authority under the law, we are certainly going to look at bringing the strongest charges we can bring,” Uthmeier said, acknowledging that many of the operation’s details are not yet public, and the trafficking law will likely be litigated. 

Still, he said those who “sexually abuse young kids should [face] the strongest form of justice possible in the death penalty.” Uthmeier added that his office is looking at other pending cases where child abusers could be eligible for death.

“Where we believe there is the appropriate case for the strongest form of justice, we will indeed pursue it.”

SB 1804, approved last week by DeSantis, allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty or life imprisonment for predators who sexually traffic children under 12 or those with mental disabilities. 

The sweeping new law is the latest in Florida's slew of anti-criminal, pro-death penalty legislation enacted under DeSantis. In 2023, he approved two bills expanding the death penalty to child rapists and reducing the jury threshold to recommend death from a unanimous vote to a supermajority. Last month, he signed a new law adding more execution methods.

What is Operation Dragon Eye? Who Has Been Charged?

Uthmeier and other law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshals, became aware of child sex trafficking in the Tampa Bay area a few months ago, he said, inspiring Operation Dragon Eye.

The effort, which began two weeks ago, included more than 100 personnel across 20 agencies. Officials say it led to the recovery of 60 missing children—the largest operation of its kind for the U.S. Marshals Service.

According to information provided by the Attorney General’s office to The Floridian, the eight arrested have been charged with crimes ranging from interference with child custody to sex with a minor.

The most egregious charges include human trafficking, filed by the St. Petersburg Police Department against Dion Tompkins, and unlawful sex with a minor and failure to register as a sex offender, filed by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office against Vernon McCloud.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office charged Sean Cordis with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and Serenity Teal with interference with child custody. The Tampa Police Department charged Khadijah Lee and Larry Mitchell with interference with child custody.

The Pinellas Sheriff’s Office also charged D’Andre Isidore-Thomas with drug possession, and St. Petersburg charged Patricia Holloman with interference with child custody and resisting arrest without violence.

Aged 9 through 17, the children included 17 boys and 43 girls. 31% were foster children, and 15 had been sex trafficked. At least one had been impregnated. 40 were considered “critically missing,” meaning at risk for abuse, sexual exploitation, or crime exposure.

And though the operation was the largest in both Florida history and that of the U.S. Marshals, Uthmeier says his office isn’t done and more efforts are underway.

“​​There are active investigations related to this initial operation that are ongoing as a result of what we've been able to discover in Operation Dragon Eye,” he said. “We’re full steam ahead, continuing to take down anybody that’s trafficking or preying upon our kids.”