A middle school science teacher in Lee County was arrested last week with child sexual abuse material on his devices.
Florida AG James Uthmeier just announced arrest number 2,000 – and the predator was standing in a classroom.
And what he just told every parent in Florida about the man grading their child's homework is terrifying.
The Teacher, the Predator, and the 2,000th Arrest
Graham Freeman, 56, of Cape Coral was arrested August 6 on 10 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and one count of sexual activity with animals.
Lee County School Superintendent Dr. Denise Carlin moved immediately after being notified.
Freeman was pulled from the classroom, barred from district property, and recommended for termination.
Uthmeier made a point of standing next to Carlin and publicly thanking her – because not every school district snaps into action like that.
The press conference announced two other cases alongside Freeman.
Jordan Kent Hall, 33, of Sarasota faces 10 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and one count of sexual activity with animals.
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2087934129081819370?s=20
Matthew David Peter, 41, of Zephyrhills was caught in an undercover FDLE operation after soliciting what he believed was a 13-year-old girl.
FDLE Special Agent in Charge Eli Lawson described how the sting worked.
"Our agents, acting in an undercover capacity, chatted online with Mr. Peter," Lawson said.
"He was soliciting to try to engage in sexual activity with what he thought was a 13-year-old female. Turned out it was one of our special agents. Thank goodness for that. It wasn't a real child at this time," he said.
Florida Is Hunting Them and the Numbers Prove It
When Uthmeier took office in February 2025 – appointed by Governor DeSantis after Ashley Moody moved to the U.S. Senate – he made child protection a centerpiece.
Two thousand arrests later, the results speak.
His Office of Statewide Prosecution's Crimes Against Children unit has secured nearly 693 years in combined prison sentences since February 2025 – over four times the previous monthly rate.
That is not a rounding error.
That is what happens when the man running the AG's office actually wants to win instead of managing optics.
The 2,000 arrests span operations across Florida – fathers, coaches, teachers, and foreign nationals who came to the state to prey on children.
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2087929129161068951?s=20
In a July 2025 Central Florida sting, six predators were arrested who had traveled from Jamaica, El Salvador, Dubai, and India to exploit American children.
In June 2026, "Operation Bad Habits" in Marion County netted 58 suspects after investigators posed online as children as young as 7.
Florida caught every one of them.
Uthmeier said Thursday he wants 10,000 arrests by next year.
"We won't stop until we get them all and ensure that we are protecting our little ones," he said.
They Are Already Talking to Your Kids
Uthmeier described the playbook these predators run on children – and every parent needs to hear it.
"They'll spend weeks or months building a relationship, getting people to drop their guard," he said. "And then they start to solicit videos, imagery, personal information. They extort. They threaten. They demand more."
This is not a fringe threat.
Online enticement reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children jumped from 292,951 in the first half of 2024 to 518,720 in the first half of 2025 – nearly doubling in 12 months.
Predators are using Snapchat, gaming platforms, and private messaging apps to reach children.
Uthmeier's office has already sued Snapchat, alleging the company deceived parents about the dangers children face on the platform.
They present themselves as peers.
Then they use that trust as a weapon.
What Florida Just Proved the Rest of America Can Do
This is not a law enforcement story.
This is a political story about what happens when conservatives actually run the government.
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2087914242985111800?s=20
Every single one of these 2,000 arrests happened because Florida put a fighter in the AG's office instead of a bureaucrat.
Uthmeier's Crimes Against Children prosecution rate is running at more than four times what it was before he took office.
Trump endorsed Uthmeier last year, calling him "an America First Warrior," and Thursday proved why.
The states still run by Democrats – the ones more focused on releasing criminals than catching predators – are not posting numbers like these.
Every predator in America should be watching Florida right now.
If Uthmeier hits 10,000 arrests, other states will have no excuse – and their attorneys general will have nowhere to hide.
Sources:
- Kennedy Owens, "Uthmeier announces 2,000 child predator arrests, charges against Lee County teacher," Florida Voice News, August 13, 2026.
- "Over 2,000 child predators arrested in Florida since last year, AG announces," Click Orlando, August 13, 2026.
- "Child predator sting leads to 48 arrests and filing of 153 charges, Florida AG Uthmeier announces," CBS Miami, July 30, 2025.
- "Over 100 arrested in Florida human trafficking, child predator sting, AG says," Click Orlando, August 12, 2026.
- National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, CyberTipline Data Report, 2025.
