POLK COUNTY, Fla. — The Polk County Sheriff's Office arrested over 200 suspects during a nine-day-long human trafficking operation.
PCSO detectives worked with multiple federal and local agencies to identify suspects and victims involved in this operation. In total, 255 suspects were arrested for illegal acts related to soliciting prostitutes, offering to commit prostitution, or aiding/abetting or transporting prostitutes.
PCSO said 93 suspects traveled to commit prostitution, and detectives interviewed them to determine if they were being trafficked or exploited by others. Authorities identified four possible human trafficking victims.
Officials said 141 suspects were arrested for soliciting a prostitute and traveling to an undercover location to negotiate having sex in exchange for money. PCSO arrested 10 suspects for aiding/abetting, transporting, or deriving proceeds from prostitutes.
According to PCSO, the youngest suspect is 17 years old and the oldest is 70 years old.
"This is the highest number of suspects we’ve ever arrested during a single undercover operation – in addition to these 244 arrests, we also arrested 11 child predators who solicited who they thought were children online in order to sexually batter them," Sheriff Grady Judd said. "The online prostitution industry enables traffickers and allows for the continued victimization of those who are being trafficked. Our goal is to identify victims, offer them help, and arrest those who are fueling the exploitation of human beings and those profiting from the exploitation of human beings. Prostitution is not a victimless crime - it results in exploitation, disease, drug and alcohol addiction, violence, and broken families."
"We don't come home until they do."
Thousands of people are trapped in a growing war zone as conflict escalates in the Middle East. Grey Bull Rescue, a Tampa-based nonprofit, has launched an operation to help evacuate Americans who are unable to leave on their own.
