Jose Luis Gonzalez Jr., 33, of Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia, United States is accused of using an app to chat online with an individual he believed to be a child. Unbeknownst to him, he was actually communicating with an undercover officer.
Gonzalez was arrested in Gainesville in connection with Operation Shining Light, an undercover sting aimed at catching adults using the internet to sexually exploit children. The sheriff’s office of Clay County, Florida, USA led the operation.
Operation Shining Light
To conduct Operation Shining Light, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office collaborated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Orange Park Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Middle District of Florida and the State Attorneys’ Office, 4th Judicial Court of Florida. Operation Lightshine and the Intercept Task Force of Northeast Florida also participated in the operation.
The operation started on August 2, 2023 and ended on August 6, 2023. During this period, investigators and agents went undercover online as children aged 13 or 14.
Once the operation concluded, more evidence were gathered to ensure that the suspects could be prosecuted and held accountable, according to Clay County sheriff Michelle Cook. On October 18, 2023, she announced the arrests of 10 men including Gonzalez, who was federally charged with five counts of distribution of child sexual abuse materials.
Operation Lightshine x Intercept Task Force of Northeast Florida
In 2019, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Matthew Murphy‘s sister Sarah Anne Vinick was kidnapped and murdered by sex traffickers. In 2021, he organized Operation Lightshine.
Former National Football League player Tim Tebow joined Operation Lightshine. In March 2023, the group and the Intercept Task Force of Northeast Florida joined forces.
CONAN Daily 