A two-day operation resulted in 27 human trafficking arrests. | Lake County Sheriff's Office
A two-day operation resulted in 27 human trafficking arrests. | Lake County Sheriff's Office
The Lake County Sheriff's Special Investigations Group has announced the arrest of 27 individuals following a two-day human trafficking suppression operation. The initiative aimed to reduce the demand for purchased sex.
"These operations are about protecting victims and holding sex buyers accountable," said Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg in a news release. "Suppressing the demand is a critical piece of dismantling the human trafficking pipeline. If there is no buyer, there is no market."
According to the release, the operation targeted individuals attempting to purchase sex through online classified ads, a method frequently employed by traffickers to market victims of human trafficking. Undercover detectives posed as individuals offering sexual services for money. Offenders were apprehended upon arrival at a Gurnee-area hotel after offering money for sexual acts and were subsequently transported to the Lake County Jail.
The release further said that experience and investigative work consistently indicate that many individuals being sold for sex do not participate willingly. Victims are often coerced into prostitution through physical violence, manipulation, fraud, or coercion and live in fear of repercussions if they do not comply.
During the operation, two offenders resisted arrest, resulting in minor injuries to an officer in one instance and damage to a hotel hallway in another. Among those arrested were Abelardo A. Velasquez from Beach Park; Robert L. Rowels from Ingleside; James A. Kavinsky from Niles; Jamir D. Holmes from Zion; Mathew Reynolds from Pleasant Prairie; Jesus S. Munoz from Woodstock; Hakeem A. Moore from Great Lakes; Jesus Navarrete-Vega from Gurnee, who was also charged with resisting a police officer and criminal damage to property.
Other arrests included Jesus M. Valdez from Zion; Tyree R.L. Alexander from Gurnee; Alexis M. Lopez from Park City; Adrion E. Reynolds from Park City; Eryk P. Plawinski from Algonquin; Daevieon Garland from Waukegan; Joshua L. Powell from Libertyville; Daniel Corona from Pleasant Prairie; Deybys Matute Moncada with an unknown address in Zion, also charged with resisting a peace officer resulting in injury and aggravated battery after allegedly kneeing a detective in the face.
Additional arrests included Charles A. Lintner from Johnsburg; Argyll Piansay from Gurnee, also charged with attempted possession of cocaine; Andre L. Harevey from North Chicago; Ryan P. Gibbs from Libertyville; Ubaldo L. Sanchez from Waukegan; Jonathan R. Litson from Gurnee; Essodong Tchakpala from Round Lake Beach; Adam S.W. Porwit from Twin Lakes; Carl R. Weber from Muskego, WI.; and John Garcia from Kenosha.
Unless otherwise noted, all arrests resulted in one count of soliciting a sexual act, with all defendants presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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