10 human traffickers arrested during multiagency operation targeting sex trafficking of minors
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston, FBI Houston, the Houston Police Department and partner agencies from the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance announced the results of a multiagency operation that ran from Aug. 28 through Sept. 7 and targeted known human traffickers involved in the sex trafficking of minors in an area of Houston known as “the Bissonnet Track.”
Ten human traffickers were arrested during the operation, including four documented gang members and six gang associates. All 10 individuals were arrested pursuant to federal arrest warrants and are charged with various crimes such as sex trafficking of minors, sex trafficking of minors by force and conspiracy to sex traffic minors.
“The sex trafficking of minors, and human trafficking as a whole, is one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in the U.S.,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Mark Dawson. “Approximately one-quarter of all individuals who are being trafficked for sex in the U.S. are minors. Human trafficking organizations target minors and other vulnerable or marginalized populations because they are easier to manipulate and control. By working together with our partner agencies from the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance to combat this growing problem, we are better postured to disrupt and dismantle the organizations behind the sex trafficking of minors and connect the victims with the services they need to recover.”
“Numerous young girls will no longer be raped, sexually exploited and beaten by the individuals arrested during this operation thanks to the efforts made by our partners at the Houston Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations and the agencies who make up the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance,” said FBI Houston acting Special Agent in Charge David Martinez. “Tragically, hundreds more underage sex trafficking victims won’t be rescued because we do not know about them. Without the public’s help, tormented sex trafficking victims remain in the clutches of manipulative criminals who seek only to enrich themselves at the expense of vulnerable juveniles.”
“I want to thank all of our task force partners, and especially the men and women of HPD's Vice Division Human Trafficking Unit and Westside Patrol Division for their hard work and phenomenal job on a successful operation,” said HPD Chief Troy Finner. “The partnership and collaboration among our agencies are instrumental in dismantling of criminal organizations. We will continue to do everything within our power to find these perpetrators and hold them accountable to the fullest extent of law to protect our community.”
In addition to the criminal arrests, HSI Houston and its Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance partners identified nine minor victims and three adult victims, and they were offered support and recovery services.
“Sex traffickers often rely on physical and sexual abuse, threats of harm, economic and psychological manipulation, and cruelty to force their victims to engage in commercial sex,” added Dawson. “As a result, victims are often left with physical and emotional scars that they must carry with them for the rest of their lives. To better confront these realities of human trafficking, we integrate trauma-informed victim support services throughout our criminal investigations to aid victims in their recovery.”
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/10-human-traffickers-arrested-during-multiagency-operation-targeting-sex-trafficking
INTERCEPT Task Force: Florida Respiratory Therapist Tried To Meet 8-Year-Old For Sex
Chad Michael Sadlowski, a 34-year-old respiratory therapist from St. Johns, Florida, has been sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in federal prison for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.
The sentencing, handed down on February 5, 2025, follows an investigation by the Northeast Florida Inter-agency Child Exploitation and Persons Trafficking Task Force (INTERCEPT) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Jacksonville.
According to court records, Sadlowski engaged in sexually explicit conversations with an undercover detective posing as the uncle of an eight-year-old girl on a messaging application between April 25 and April 28, 2024.
https://www.tampafp.com/intercept-task-force-florida-respiratory-therapist-tried-to-meet-8-year-old-for-sex/
South Florida basketball coach arrested for allegedly exchanging pornographic videos with 10-year-old boy
A youth basketball coach from Miami was arrested for allegedly exchanging a series of inappropriate text messages and pornographic videos with a 10-year-old boy.
City of Miami Police said the pair met in person for the first time at the Gibson Park Community Center in Overtown a few months ago. The conversations via text, PlayStation 5 and FaceTime went on for sometime until the 10-year-old’s family found out and reported it to police.
“We know that this is something that is inappropriate, something incorrect and something illegal for an adult to be saying to a child,” said Miami Police Officer Michael Vega.
The suspect, 26-year-old Charles Williams, appeared in bond court Wednesday morning.
“What’s the victim? Ten-year-old child?” said Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy S. Glazer.
“Yes,” said a prosecutor.
“And he’s 26?” said Glazer.
Glazer ordered him to stay away from the victim and any child under the age of 18.
Police said this came to light when the victim’s older brother found the inappropriate messages between his younger brother and Williams after going through the boy’s phone.
“The brother sees some texts from the coach to his little brother, and inside those text messages, he sees that his brother sends the coach nude pictures of his genitals,” said Vega.
After the family alerted the authorities, the victim admitted to officers the pair had been communicating.
A deeper dive revealed a series of disturbing messages. One reads, “Lemme see da chicken,” referring to the victim’s genitalia.
At one point, police said, Williams sent the child a video of two people having sex, asking him, “Do you think you can do that?”
“Now, the coach also, through FaceTime, pulled down his pants and exposed himself to the 10-year-old,” said Vega.
https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade/south-florida-basketball-coach-arrested-for-allegedly-exchanging-pornographic-videos-with-10-year-old-boy/
Over 12 arrested following monthslong joint human trafficking investigation in Southeast Georgia
Crime and safety analyst says people behind sex trafficking rings will ‘victimize anyone’
In bodycam footage obtained from St. Mary’s Police, officers can be seen arresting multiple suspects who believed they were meeting teenage girls for sex as part of undercover operations targeting sex trafficking in Camden County.
The suspects were primarily individuals willing to pay hundreds of dollars to meet and have sex with girls as young as 14. Undercover investigators posed as young teenage girls on a website known for escort and prostitution services.
News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney, who is also a retired JSO Director of Investigations and Homeland Security, said he wasn’t surprised that it didn’t take long for sex trafficking customer to make contact with what they believed to be young girls.
“In my history of dealing with this kind of decoy setup, it’s like fishing,” Hackney said. “Once you place that lure in the water, almost instantly you have hits on your target.”
Investigators reported that every suspect who was arrested had arranged to meet and pay for sex with a teen at various public locations in Camden County, mainly in business parking lots.
In one case, police say a suspect traveled two hours from Savannah, Georgia, in a $90,000 truck, carrying $3,600 in cash. Investigators say the man offered to pay $200 per 15 minutes for sex with what he thought was a child.
https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2025/02/06/over-12-arrested-following-monthslong-joint-human-trafficking-investigation-in-southeast-georgia/
Nigeria: How Pastor Trafficked Children for Sale in Plateau
Plateau State has recently been identified as a hotspot for girl child trafficking, particularly children between the ages of two and ten years.
This development has portrayed the state in a bad light.
The chairperson of the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission, Olivia Dazyem, also revealed that more than 100 trafficking children were rescued in the last year.
According to her, the insecurity challenges which bedevilled the state for some years have left people vulnerable to the point that there are more widows and orphans in the state.
LEADERSHIP investigation revealed that most of the children taken in such arrangements end up being murdered, abused and, in most cases, have their organs harvested for sale.
It will be recalled the State Police Command recently busted another child trafficking syndicate after a credible intelligence tip from the Joint taskforce who apprehended a woman named Nanman Pungtel at old airport junction Jos.
It was gathered that the suspect was found with 3 kids who she couldn't account for. Further investigation led to the arrest of the mastermind of the trafficking operations, Pastor Dayo Bernard of End Time Army Ministry Bukuru, on the same night.
Pastor Bernard had his church around Bukuru Low-cost in Jos South LGA. The police have sealed it for further investigation.
The operation led to the rescue of five children between the ages of two and four years abducted from various homes in the Kwande district of Qua'anpan LGA and the subsequent arrest of other members of the syndicate identified as Rita Agboeze, Victoria Ugwu, and Peter Ukwuani.
However, the Kingpin and principal suspect, Pastor Dayo, confessed to having abducted and sold 13 Plateau children at varying prices ranging from N350,000 to N750,000, all of whom have been recovered by the police and reunited with their families.
Pastor Bernard informed the parents that he had an orphanage home and convinced them to release their children to him for sponsorship.
In the same, in January this year, the state joint task force on child trafficking intercepted a child trafficker who lured underaged children from Langtang South local government area of the state.
They were intercepted at a Lagos park in Jos, destined to be 'way billed' to Lagos to work for an unknown madam. Mrs Manwor Ayuba, the kingpin, has been arrested, and the children have been reunited with their families.
https://allafrica.com/stories/202502050298.html
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