OHIO — More than 120 men, including four from the Miami Valley, ended up in handcuffs after a statewide human trafficking sting.
Investigators said they tried buying sex.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, authorities arrested 122 men across Ohio as part of what they called “Operation Spring Cleaning.”
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In Montgomery County, 56-year-old Joseph Ferguson, 30-year-old Nicholas Gregory, 67-year-old Michael Duffy, and 39-year-old Corbin Giffith were all arrested and charged with solicitation.
During the operation, law enforcement served search warrants at homes and massage parlors and set up undercover stings involving online chats and in-person meetings.
“I urge the prosecutors that will take these cases to court to handle the cases and take them seriously,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said.
News Center 7’s John Bedell spoke to Yost virtually on Thursday after his office announced the results of the week-long, statewide sting.
“Don’t plead these cases down to nothing,” Yost said. “The only way we’re going to stop human trafficking is if we can cut off the oxygen, the cash that fuels it.”
Law enforcement said the prostitution involved in these stings is not a victimless crime and that illegal sex can be, and many times is, human trafficking.
“People don’t realize that a lot of these people may be forced into doing these things when they don’t want to,” Willoughby Police Department Detective Sergeant Kevin Rastall said.
Bedell also talked to Dona Pierce. She’s the executive director of Oasis House in Dayton.
“We have been serving human trafficking survivors for over two decades here in the Dayton area in Montgomery County,” Pierce said.
He spoke to her right after Yost said law enforcement referred 42 human trafficking survivors to healthcare and social services organizations.
“It’s critical to get resources to them. Otherwise, they will be victims again. They will continue to be exploited. So the more resources that we can offer them, the better the chances they have for healing and recovery,” Pierce said.
Another important facet of the statewide sting:
“The message is: we’re out there. We’re working. Don’t buy sex in Ohio, Yost said.
While this didn’t include any of the men arrested in Montgomery County in this statewide operation, Yost’s office said this sting also included several arrests on felony charges against online predators who are accused of seeking minors.
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