Cook Country arrests hundreds in sex trafficking crackdown as part of National Johns Suppression Initiative
The Cook County sheriff’s office said Wednesday that hundreds of sex buyers and six “pimps” were arrested as part of the nationwide effort against sex trafficking: the National Johns Suppression Initiative, which ran from July 25 through Aug. 26.
Photo/Sawso.org
Nearly a dozen juveniles were rescued as part of a nationwide effort to reduce sex trafficking.
A press release detailed the success in Cook County as police in Maywood, Matteson and Lansing worked in joint operations to arrest 73 “johns” – including one man who was also charged with child endangerment for having his 5-year-old child in the back seat of his vehicle while he solicited an undercover officer for sex.
Arlington Heights police nabbed two people in the initiative, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Gang Task force arrested eight men, with all 10 charged with solicitation of a sex act, according to news releases.
“The National Johns Suppression Initiative is designed to target and reduce the demand for purchased sex, which fuels a sex trafficking industry that perpetuates a cycle of violence, exploitation, mental illness and drug addiction for victims,” Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said in a statement.
Some numbers from the national efforts: 10 people face charges related to attempting to have sex with a minor, six were charged with trafficking-related offenses and 11 juveniles were recovered.
During the monthlong operation, organizers also launched an artificial intelligence bot on several emerging online sources of sex trafficking in Chicago, Phoenix, Boston, Seattle and Minneapolis.
photo/ Sammis Reachers
