Gainesville Man Among Dozens Caught in Marion County Child Predator Sting
At least one of the dozens of men caught in a child predator sting by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) has ties to Gainesville.
Kadyn Shane Russell, 21, resides in Gainesville and was booked into the Alachua County Jail Wednesday on a Marion County warrant.
On June 1, MCSO, in coordination with multiple other agencies, conducted an online investigation targeting adults using the internet to sexually exploit children and meet with them to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
Using Tinder, an Undercover Deputy (U.D.) posed as an 18-year-old female and matched with Russell. Soon after they began conversing, U.D. identified themselves as 14 years of age and asked Russell if that was okay. Russell acknowledged U.D. was very young and said it depended on what she was looking for. Russell said he was not looking for anything in particular, and U.D. said she was looking to get to know someone.
According to the report, Russell asked U.D. if “she was okay with older guys wanting more than what her age group would want. She asked what he meant by that, and he responded with sexual stuff and that he was not asking for that." U.D. tells Russell that she does not have a lot of experience and has only kissed someone. U.D. said she’s never been with an older guy and tells Russell “she is interested in sexual things.”
Russell questions U.D. if she could “handle it” before requesting a picture. U.D. then sent a photo depicting her lying down in a bed with a black hoodie on.
Russell asked U.D. “if she was a virgin” and U.D. responded with the affirmative, stating it was "embarrassing." She tells him the most she has done is making out. Russell asked U.D. if she believed it would hurt if she lost her virginity to him due to him being “big” and then asked her if she has ever done anything alone, like masturbation. He told U.D. that he wanted to hang out with her so he could “teach her stuff.”
Russell began getting extremely sexually explicit with U.D. before sending a video of his penis while masturbating.
Russell faces charges of online child solicitation, transmission of harmful material to a minor, and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.
