Larry Hayes

Larry William Hayes is an alleged predator caught in a Polk County, Florida investigation of Takedown with Chris Hansen. At the time of the sting, Hayes had been living in Plant City, Florida. Hayes had been in the Army for 20 years, but was a disabled veteran at the time of the sting. He had three children, a twenty-year-old, a seven-year-old, and a twelve-year-old. Hayes had been communicating with a decoy posing as the father to a fifteen-year-old female foster child, selling the girl for sex. In a somewhat different scenario than the typical investigations, Hayes met the decoy father in a hotel lobby. The decoy and Hayes discussed the deal and Hayes paid the father the agreed upon amount, plus $10. The decoy gave Hayes a key for a hotel room, under the guise that the girl would be waiting there for him. The decoy father described Hayes as "very nervous," and "cold." When the father asked that Hayes not hurt his daughter, Hayes responded, "I'll take care of her." A search of Hayes vehicle uncovered a passenger seat filled with dozens of empty cans of Monster energy drinks, sandwich bags, and pizza boxes. Deputies detained Hayes as he entered the hotel room and took him to a mobile processing unit where Chris was able to interview him.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices