VERO BEACH — A 28-year-old Vero Beach woman was arrested Thursday after detectives removed her two young children from her home during a multi-state child sexual abuse investigation, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said.
Lisette Zamarripa is charged with two counts of sexual battery and transmission of child sexual abuse material. She is being held at the Indian River County Jail with no bond. An arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14.
Internet Crimes Against Children detectives with the sheriff’s office were contacted Thursday by the Michigan State Police about an ongoing investigation. Michigan investigators had found images and videos on a Kik messaging account that showed a woman sexually abusing two young children, according to the sheriff’s office.
Detectives identified the woman as Zamarripa and went to her home. They located a 1-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy — both her biological children — and removed them. The Florida Department of Children and Families took custody of the children.
Zamarripa was arrested about 2½ hours after detectives received the tip, the sheriff’s office said. Authorities said she admitted sexually abusing the children and recording the abuse during a video call at the request of her boyfriend, Kenneth Conkle, who was watching from Michigan.
Michigan investigators with the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at Conkle’s home. Authorities said the 38-year-old man admitted directing and recording the abuse and separately confessed to abusing his own 1-year-old daughter.
Conkle faces charges in Michigan that include child sexual battery, four counts of production of aggravated child sexual abuse material and five counts of using a computer to commit a crime. He is being held in the Van Buren County Jail. Florida charges against him are pending, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said.
“Protecting children is always the top priority of the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office,” the agency said in a statement. “This kind of abuse is absolutely unacceptable and will never be tolerated in our county. We’re proud of our detectives, who acted quickly to get these children out of a dangerous situation, and grateful to investigators in Michigan for their partnership on this case, even from states away.”
The investigation remains open. The children were not identified.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office. Suspected child sexual exploitation can also be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or report.cybertip.org.