157 arrested in undercover human trafficking sting, including Wisconsin suspects
POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFRV) – During a five-day-long undercover human trafficking operation in Florida, authorities arrested 157 suspects, some from Wisconsin, allegedly involved in illegal acts related to soliciting prostitutes, offering to commit prostitution, or aiding and abetting prostitutes.
Labeled “Operation Autumn Sweep,” the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Florida found those who traveled to commit prostitution were screened by detectives and social services organizations to determine if they were being trafficked or exploited by others and were offered services by the social services organization at the operation.
Deputies say that during this investigation, four possible human trafficking victims were identified of the 47 prostitutes who showed up to the undercover location offering to commit prostitution.
There were 96 suspects arrested for soliciting a prostitute and traveling to the undercover location to negotiate to have sex in exchange for money; 14 other suspects were arrested, and of those, one was charged with human trafficking.
Detectives charged a total of 35 felonies and 201 misdemeanors during the investigation. The suspects’ criminal histories included a combined total of 327 felonies and 455 misdemeanors, with charges such as premeditated murder, attempted murder, vehicular homicide, attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery, aggravated battery, and sexual assault.
One hundred thirty-one suspects were from outside of Polk County, Florida, including nine states and the United Kingdom: Arkansas, California, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
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Three suspects were either active duty military or veterans; three suspects worked at Disney World; three suspects were previously arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Florida during similar sting operations. Several suspects left either their wives or fiancées at home – the women thought their partners were either at work, or going to a store or the gym.
Three other suspects communicated with and solicited who they thought were children online – they showed up to an undercover location in Polk County at separate times to sexually batter children. One of these suspects also works at Disney World.
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