Teachers, Government Employees Busted In Human Trafficking Crackdown
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said 51 human trafficking victims were rescued as part of a statewide crackdown called Operation “Ohio Knows.”
One hundred federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies teamed up for the operation which led to 161 arrests including a teacher, a professor, a firefighter, a pilot, municipal employees, and a city councilman.
The week-long operation ran from September 24 to October first. Over 160 people seeking to buy sex, including 3 who wanted to buy it from minors, were arrested. “People who traffic other humans are doing it for a really simple reason — money. And if there’s no demand then there will be no market,” Yost said, “Reducing the demand means we reduce the number of people who are victimized by human trafficking.”
50 Busted For Selling Sex
Fifty men and women were arrested for attempting to sell sex and Yost said officers interviewed 51 potential human trafficking victims, who were provided services from health care and social services organizations.
Former human trafficking victim Mandie Knight said being arrested saved her life. “When I was being trafficked, I knew that law enforcement was somewhere I could turn to when I needed a safe way out, and that’s what happened,” said Knight, now resource manager for Freedom a la Cart. “. “Had I not been arrested, had I not gone to jail, and had I not suffered some consequences for the decisions I was making, I wouldn’t be here today and I wouldn’t be as successful in life.”
In addition, 10 missing juveniles were located and provided with services for a safe return home.
Names Not Released
According to numbers provided by the Attorney General’s Office, the majority of ‘johns’ seeking to buy sex were arrested in the Columbus and Akron area, which is also where the majority of potential human trafficking victims were discovered.
SCDN spoke with the AG’s office who declined to provide the names of those arrested, saying that information could be obtained from local law enforcement where the busts happened.
No arrests were made in the local area.
Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks Sr. said, “The Southeastern Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force was proud to support and participate in the 2021 fall sting operation.”
Chief Greg Jones of the New Albany Police Department said, “The work of the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force and its many partners not only provides the victims of human trafficking a way out of prostitution but also provides support for the physical, psychological, and emotional toll it takes on some of the most vulnerable of victims. We appreciate the opportunity to partner with other local and state agencies to be part of such an important mission.”