Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Monday that 161 people were arrested and 51 potential human trafficking victims were helped as part of a weeklong, state-wide anti-human trafficking operation that culminated Friday.
The anti-human trafficking sting, Operation Ohio Knows, was the largest in Ohio's history, according to a news release on Yost's website.
Yost referred to a recent Ohio statute that makes the punishment for buying sex more severe, thereby targeting the demand side of the sex trafficking trade.
Law enforcement interviewed 51 potential human trafficking victims, who were offered health care and social services.
Also at the news conference was Mandie Knight, a human trafficking survivor, who expressed gratitude for the role that law enforcement played in her journey out of the lifestyle.
Knight is now a wife and mother, a forensic criminology student and a resource manager for Freedom a la Cart, a catering business that employs human trafficking survivors, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
"Operation Ohio Knows was Ohio's third sex trafficking sting over the past year: Operation 614 in April resulted in 93 arrests with 53 victims helped, and Operation Autumn Hope" in October 2020 ended with 157 arrests, 109 victims helped and 45 missing children found.
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
Over 160 Arrested in Massive Human Trafficking Sting, Including a Teacher, a Professor and a Politician
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