COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A statewide human trafficking investigation conducted the week of Oct. 6 resulted in the arrest of over 130 people, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
In a release from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office, 132 people who tried to buy sex were arrested. Charges included engaging in prostitution and solicitation, involving 110 suspects. Additionally, the office said 22 people were charged with felonies related to sex with a minor and/or drug possession.
The suspects ranged between the ages of 21 and 71, after the Ohio Organized Crime Investigation Commission raided nine locations that had been linked to human trafficking, including several massage parlors and a motel. Investigators seized more than $20,000 and other evidence between Oct. 6 and Oct. 12 throughout 19 counties, and included cities such as Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, Toledo and Marietta.
“People still tend to view purchasing sex as being somehow divorced from the issue of human trafficking, but the fact of the matter is there is no human trafficking unless people are buying or buying sex," Yost said during a press conference Monday. "We need to have sanctions for those people that are fueling the economy of human trafficking.”
Among the arrests in Franklin County was 29-year-old Terrance Cummings, a registered sex offender who is facing new accusations that he traded drugs for sex acts with teens. He faces charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, distributing or receiving child pornography, coercion and enticement of a minor and obstruction of justice. At minimum, conviction on the first two counts could see Cummings spend 35 years in prison, and at maximum, a life sentence.
Also arrested from Franklin County was Anthony Simms, 56, who was federally indicted on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and sex trafficking of a minor.
The Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children task force, along with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office made several arrests in the Columbus area. John Hughes, 35, faces two felony counts of pandering for seeking to buy sex from a minor. Hughes works for the Ohio Treasurer’s Office and referees high-school athletics, the Attorney General’s Office said.
The task force also charged five men with pandering involving minors, including Columbus-area residents Quin Liston, 22, John Dudash, 77, Christopher Miller, 54, and Robert Fijol, 45. Columbus resident Colton Smith, 35, was charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
“Numbers are staggering, which shows you there's much work to do," Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin said.
"So it's a day that we're very proud of, but it's also a day of concern as well," Franklin County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Rick Minerd said. "So you've heard the numbers in terms of the arrests, but also the people that were victimized.
Of the 110 suspected “johns” arrested in the statewide investigation, 37 reside in central Ohio.
The state has started a new human trafficking hotline, which can be reached by calling 1-844-END-OHHT. Learn more about the new hotline here.
