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Jun 18, 2026

Lithia man arrested for traveling to Polk County to have sex with who he thought was a 14-year old girl

Media Contact: Brian Bruchey, PIO

Perry Thomas OlsonUndercover detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Lithia man after he arranged for and then traveled to have a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl. 

Click here for video of Sheriff Judd commenting on the arrest.

“The suspect thought he was communicating and negotiating with a man who was going to let him have sex with his daughter for $200. The suspect even asked if it was a trap. Newsflash--- it was a trap. And now there is one less dangerous predator out there preying on innocent children, because we locked him up in the Polk County Jail.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff.

On Wednesday, June 17, 2026, 33-year-old Perry Thomas Olson answered a fictitious advertisement that detectives placed on a dating app. The ad was for a man who was prostituting his 14-year-old daughter for sex. 

Olson texted the phone number on the ad and it was answered by the undercover PCSO detective. Olson immediately asked the detective about the price, and then proceeded to discuss the girl’s age, and the circumstances of the sexual encounter. 

At around 4 pm, Olson texted that he had arrived at a designated meeting place, and he was immediately taken into custody. 

Detectives found that Olson was in possession of $200 cash, two condoms, and a bottle of lubricant. 

Perry Thomas Olson was taken to the Sheriff’s Processing Center and booked-in on the following charges: Human Trafficking for Commercial Sexual Activity-Victim under 18 (FL), Traveling to Meet Using a Computer to Solicit a Parent for Sex with a Minor (F2), Attempting Lewd/Lascivious Battery on Victim 12-16 (F2), Use a Computer to Solicit a Parent/Guardian (F3), and Unlawful Use of a Two-Way Communication Device (F3).