John Idleburg Sheriff | Lake County IL Sheriff's Office
John Idleburg Sheriff | Lake County IL Sheriff's Office
In a recent human trafficking suppression operation, the Lake County Sheriff's Special Investigations Group (SIG) arrested 27 men over two days. The initiative aimed to reduce the demand for purchased sex by targeting individuals attempting to buy sex through online classified ads. Undercover detectives posed as sex workers at a hotel in Gurnee, leading to the arrests when money was offered for sexual acts.
Sheriff John D. Idleburg emphasized the importance of such operations, stating, "These operations are about protecting victims and holding sex buyers accountable. Suppressing the demand is a critical piece of dismantling the human trafficking pipeline. If there is no buyer, there is no market."
The operation highlighted that many individuals involved in prostitution are not participating willingly but are forced into it through violence or coercion by traffickers. During the arrests, two offenders resisted; one incident resulted in minor injuries to an officer and damage to hotel property.
The arrested individuals were charged with soliciting a sexual act and processed at Lake County Jail before being released pending court dates. Additional charges were filed against some offenders for resisting arrest and other offenses.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office expressed gratitude to the Gurnee Police Department and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) for their support during this operation. All defendants remain innocent until proven guilty in court.
Information from this article can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up