Seminole Co. Fla., (July 27, 2023) – The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) today arrested Jose Tirado, a detective assigned to the SCSO Crimes Against Children Unit, on an active warrant for 15 felony charges, including five counts of Unlawful Use Of A Two-Way Communication Device, five counts of Disclosure Or Use Of Confidential Criminal Justice Information, and five counts of Unlawful Use Of A Computer, Network Or
Electronic Device Resulting In The Interruption Or Impairment Of Governmental Operation.
The Sheriff’s Office self-initiated a criminal investigation in April after they discovered Tirado covertly used technology to warn suspects intending to travel to meet minors for sex that they were involved in an undercover operation, allowing them to avoid arrest, and potentially putting other detectives in harm’s way.
These investigations involved detectives using undercover personas and involved no real child victims. Tirado has been employed with the agency since May 2010, and joined the Crimes Against Unit as a detective in 2015. He was suspended on April 21, 2023, when an Administrative Investigation was initiated. Tirado was booked in the John E. Polk Correctional Facility on a $65,000 bond and placed on GPS monitoring this evening and Sheriff Dennis Lemma immediately initiated the process to terminate Tirado’s employment from the
Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators determined that someone was warning the subjects to stay away. The initial concern was that they hacked into the crimes against children unit network and were intercepting information.