Florida case links child exploitation claims in two counties

How the investigation developed

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced charges against Rafiq Osborne McDonald, 34, involving alleged conduct in Polk and Orange counties. Florida’s Office of Statewide Prosecution is handling the charges.

A Polk County Sheriff’s Office complaint affidavit reviewed by Daily Ridge says the Polk investigation started in January 2025. A woman told investigators she had found a video on a secondary phone used by McDonald. Investigators allege the recording showed McDonald directing and inappropriately touching a child who was 8 years old when the video was made.

Investigators initially did not locate the recording during a preliminary review of the phone’s Google Photos account. The phone was then submitted for a full forensic download, and investigators obtained a search warrant for McDonald’s Google accounts.

Connection to the Orange County inquiry

In March 2026, Polk County investigators learned that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had received information about McDonald from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. That information concerned an incident in Apopka.

FDLE later found the Polk County video while examining thousands of files, the affidavit says. Polk investigators also reviewed information obtained from Google and confirmed that the recording was stored there.

Two of the charges announced by the attorney general are punishable by life in prison and carry mandatory minimum sentences of 25 years if McDonald is convicted. The charges are accusations; a court has not determined guilt. The case’s next steps will proceed through the criminal court system.