Largest human trafficking sting in Ohio history nets 161, including politician, firefighter
A firefighter, college professor and a Cleveland-area city councilman were among 161 people nabbed in a statewide sex sting operation last week, described as Ohio largest ever focused on human trafficking.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and law enforcement officials from Franklin, Montgomery, Portage and Summit counties, as well as social service providers and former human trafficking victims, met in the Ohio Statehouse on Monday to talk about the initiative.
Dubbed Operation Ohio Knows, the weeklong sting was intended to create a deterrent for those who seek sex for pay or profit, Yost said.
"We want to send a message to everybody in the country: Don't buy sex in Ohio," he said.
Operation Ohio Knows
Law enforcement fanned out across the state, communicating with hundreds of mostly men seeking sex. For every arrest made, officers made contact with up to eight "johns" whose actions didn't meet the elements of any crime, said Chief Deputy Rick Minerd, of the Franklin County sheriff's office.
Three of the perpetrators were willing to pay to have sex with who they thought were minors. Ten minors previously reported missing were recovered.
Fifty-one women, would-be victims, were provided assistance by social service advocates. It was unclear how many of the women also were charged.
Most were charged with engaging in prostitution, a first-degree misdemeanor.
A change in state law passed in the spring requires those convicted to undergo human trafficking education,
"We cannot arrest our way out of human trafficking," said Yost, noting that arrests are nevertheless important as a deterrence. "If there are no buyers, there will be no trafficking."
He wants people to know that it's not a victimless crime.
"When you are the buyer, you have no idea who you're dealing with," he said. "The pimp, the trafficker, doesn't show up and sit in the corner watching you. The survivor doesn't tell you, 'I don't want to do this, but if I don't I'm going to be beat' or 'He's going to withhold my drugs.'
"Because we don't know, anybody in Ohio who purchases sex is assuming the risk that they're complicit in trafficking."
Human trafficking survivor Mandie Knight spoke via Zoom about her former lifestyle and her gratitude at being arrested.
“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," said Knight, a wife, mother and student in forensic criminology.
Minerd called those who seek out sex for money "deviants and predators."
Arrested Elyria councilman: 'an enormous mistake'
Mark N. Jessie, an Elyria councilman running for re-election Nov. 2, was one of the men picked up by the sting.
"I'm taking this very seriously and realize it's an enormous mistake," he told The Dispatch Monday. Jessie said he was seeking sex from someone he thought was selling it on the "Skip the games" website.
When officers arrested him, he said, "There was an immediate feeling of wanting to throw up and an immediate feeling of facing the consequences with my family and friends."
Summit County Sheriff Kandy Fatheree cautioned her colleagues not to rest on sting operations alone.
A firefighter, college professor and a Cleveland-area city councilman were among 161 people nabbed in a statewide sex sting operation last week, described as Ohio largest ever focused on human trafficking.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and law enforcement officials from Franklin, Montgomery, Portage and Summit counties, as well as social service providers and former human trafficking victims, met in the Ohio Statehouse on Monday to talk about the initiative.
Dubbed Operation Ohio Knows, the weeklong sting was intended to create a deterrent for those who seek sex for pay or profit, Yost said.
"We want to send a message to everybody in the country: Don't buy sex in Ohio," he said.
Operation Ohio Knows
Law enforcement fanned out across the state, communicating with hundreds of mostly men seeking sex. For every arrest made, officers made contact with up to eight "johns" whose actions didn't meet the elements of any crime, said Chief Deputy Rick Minerd, of the Franklin County sheriff's office.
Three of the perpetrators were willing to pay to have sex with who they thought were minors. Ten minors previously reported missing were recovered.
Fifty-one women, would-be victims, were provided assistance by social service advocates. It was unclear how many of the women also were charged.
Most were charged with engaging in prostitution, a first-degree misdemeanor.
A change in state law passed in the spring requires those convicted to undergo human trafficking education,
"We cannot arrest our way out of human trafficking," said Yost, noting that arrests are nevertheless important as a deterrence. "If there are no buyers, there will be no trafficking."
He wants people to know that it's not a victimless crime.
"When you are the buyer, you have no idea who you're dealing with," he said. "The pimp, the trafficker, doesn't show up and sit in the corner watching you. The survivor doesn't tell you, 'I don't want to do this, but if I don't I'm going to be beat' or 'He's going to withhold my drugs.'
"Because we don't know, anybody in Ohio who purchases sex is assuming the risk that they're complicit in trafficking."
Human trafficking survivor Mandie Knight spoke via Zoom about her former lifestyle and her gratitude at being arrested.
“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," said Knight, a wife, mother and student in forensic criminology.
Minerd called those who seek out sex for money "deviants and predators."
Arrested Elyria councilman: 'an enormous mistake'
Mark N. Jessie, an Elyria councilman running for re-election Nov. 2, was one of the men picked up by the sting.
"I'm taking this very seriously and realize it's an enormous mistake," he told The Dispatch Monday. Jessie said he was seeking sex from someone he thought was selling it on the "Skip the games" website.
When officers arrested him, he said, "There was an immediate feeling of wanting to throw up and an immediate feeling of facing the consequences with my family and friends."
Summit County Sheriff Kandy Fatheree cautioned her colleagues not to rest on sting operations alone.
Largest human trafficking sting in Ohio history nets 161, including politician, firefighter
Law enforcement held a news conference Monday to announce results of a weeklong sting operation to help deter human trafficking.
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