Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Núñez told Newsmax Monday that the push to rebrand pedophiles as "minor-attracted persons" is "disgusting" and that her state "won't stand for that either."
During an appearance on Newsmax's "National Report," the Florida Republican discussed a case in Texas, where a high school teacher in El Paso told her students to refer to pedophiles as "MAPs, minor attracted persons."
According to NBC News, the teacher said, "Don't judge people just because they want to have sex with a 5-year-old."
"It's disgusting," Núñez said. "Quite frankly, I don't understand it either. I'm glad that that teacher was fired."
"A pedophile is a pedophile and they're a pervert, and so that's what we need to refer to them as," she continued. "There is no wokeism in our book that is going to allow a pedophile to be cast in a positive light. That is something that [Florida] Gov. [Ron] DeSantis and I are very clear on, and I would hope that other governors would follow suit."
The Polk County Sheriff's Office in Florida announced on Friday that a week-long sex trafficking sting had resulted in 160 arrests, including a Georgia deputy police chief, according to the New York Post.
"Operation Fall Haul II" also led to the arrest of two Disney employees, a state corrections officer, and several teachers, the news outlet reports.
"Kudos to our team in law enforcement that they ran this thing," Núñez said. "They netted 160 arrests. Many of them are individuals that are married, many of them are teachers, and many of them are in law enforcement."
"And so what you see here is Florida's commitment to addressing a real pressing issue in our communities," she continued. "This is something that I've been very focused on over the course of my time in public service."
The lieutenant governor added that she wants to send a message, loud and clear.
"Florida's closed to business as it relates to human trafficking," she said. "We are not going to stand idly by and let this heinous crime take roots in our community, and we want to protect our children and those that are suffering under the weight of this terrible scourge."
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