Agents say the Florida case widened after a phone search and a victim interview pointed to many more possible children.
ORANGE COUNTY, FL — A former Orlando Health employee was taken into federal custody this week after investigators said he used online chats to target minors for sex, and a court filing said agents now believe dozens of children may have had contact with him.
Federal and local investigators say the case matters now because it moved beyond an undercover online sting and into a wider child exploitation inquiry. Aaron Starbird, identified in court records as a former hospital employee in Clermont, first drew attention during a sheriff’s office operation last fall, then became the subject of a federal criminal complaint filed March 12. Investigators say they have identified one alleged victim so far and are still trying to find others, while state and federal cases move on separate tracks.
According to the federal complaint, the investigation began to widen after an Orange County Sheriff’s Office online covert employee posed as an underage boy on Sept. 29, 2025, on the hookup app Sniffies. The complaint says a user with the name “astarbird” resumed contact, appeared to believe the undercover account belonged to a 15-year-old and sent explicit files while asking to meet. Investigators later traced the account to Starbird. Deputies stopped his vehicle on State Road 408 on Nov. 20, 2025, seized his phone and interviewed him. In that interview, deputies said, Starbird told them he tried to avoid contact with juveniles and stopped communicating when he learned their ages. Even so, Orange County authorities arrested him on Dec. 2, 2025, on state charges tied to alleged solicitation and child sexual abuse material.
The federal affidavit filed Thursday gave the broadest account yet of what agents say they found after that arrest. FBI Special Agent Michelle Langer wrote that a forensic review of the phone from Feb. 23 to March 2 flagged about 77 videos that agents considered indicative of child sexual abuse material, including files involving very young children. The affidavit also said investigators interviewed one alleged victim, who told them he met Starbird online in 2024, went to Starbird’s home when he was 14 and had sexual contact there. The filing says agents found evidence suggesting at least 30 other children may have engaged in sexual acts with Starbird after online communication. Investigators also wrote that they are still trying to identify additional people who may have had contact with him, and some details of the case remain unknown while that work continues.
The allegations also raised questions because of Starbird’s work history in Central Florida’s hospital system, though investigators have not publicly said any alleged victim had a connection to a hospital. Local television reports said Starbird worked at Orlando Health South Lake Hospital in Clermont and had previously worked at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Orlando Health told local media that Starbird no longer works for the system. The complaint itself focuses on online communications, a seized phone and victim accounts, not conduct inside a medical facility. Still, the mention of a hospital job gave the case a wider public profile in Lake and Orange counties, where South Lake Hospital serves a fast-growing area west of Orlando and where authorities are now sorting through whether any setting, record or contact point may help identify other possible victims.
Legally, the case now sits in two court systems. The federal complaint filed in the Middle District of Florida accuses Starbird of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b), and U.S. Magistrate Judge David A. Baker signed the complaint March 12 in Orlando. Separate state charges reported by local outlets include 10 counts of unlawful possession of material depicting a child in a sexual performance, along with counts related to transmitting obscene material to a minor and soliciting a minor by computer. Local reporting said Starbird had been released on bond in the state case before federal agents took him into custody. A pretrial conference in the state case is scheduled for June 9, 2026, while the federal investigation continues. Court records available in public reporting did not identify any defense response to the new federal filing.
Outside the courtroom, the case has unfolded mostly through arrest paperwork, court filings and short public statements, leaving neighbors and families with a stark but incomplete picture. What stands out in the records is how quickly the inquiry expanded. What started as messages with an undercover account turned into a broader review of one device, one alleged victim interview and what agents described as a larger digital trail. Investigators wrote that the forensic review is still ongoing. They have not publicly said how many total possible victims they expect to identify, whether all of the alleged conduct happened in Orange County or nearby counties, or whether additional federal charges could be filed. Those answers may shape the next stage of the case more than any single hearing.
For now, the public record shows a defendant in federal custody, one filed federal charge, a pending state case and an active effort to identify other children named or implied in digital evidence. The next clear milestone is Starbird’s state pretrial conference on June 9, unless prosecutors file additional federal charges or disclose more details before then.
Author note: Last updated March 13, 2026.