Theodore Rex Walrond, 21, of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, Florida, United States entered the University of Florida in Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida in 2020 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Home to 16 academic colleges, the UF is the fifth largest single-campus university in the U.S.

Also in 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice awarded a $741,556 grant to the St. Petersburg Police Department for three years to create the Tampa Bay Human Trafficking Task Force. Currently, there are 23 member agencies in the task force including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In collaboration with the Tampa Bay Human Trafficking Task Force, the St. Petersburg Police Department recently conducted a four-day undercover investigation. As part of the human trafficking sting, officers created fake online advertisements selling sex with children.

Responding to the advertisements, Walrond allegedly requested two girls aged 15 and 14 and requested more photos after being told their ages. He agreed to meet at a parking lot and pay $200 for 30 minutes of sex with the two girls.

At the parking lot on March 17, 2023, Walrond allegedly paid $100 upfront and agreed to pay the remaining $100 after. When St. Petersburg Police Department officers arrested him, they found the other $100 on him and a small baggie of cocaine in his wallet.

Walrond was charged with unlawful use of a two-way communications device, possession of cocaine, traveling to meet a minor and human trafficking. His next court hearing is scheduled for March 24, 2023.

The UF student was denied bond. Including him, a total of 18 people were arrested in the human trafficking sting in St. Petersburg.