At left is Maj. Jeff Allen. On the table are the mug shots of the men who are charged All 17 were charged with various offenses when each answered an advertisement on websites and tried to arrange for sex with minors, according to Greene. A 17th person was arrested in Columbiana County and will be arraigned there.
The 17 men arrested are from as near as Youngstown, Niles and Struthers. Two truck drivers arrested are from Louisiana and New Jersey. Most of the charges are felonies with some of the charges carrying a penalty of up to three years in prison if convicted. Green said when this operation began Friday, the number of people arrested was low, and Greene said he wondered if the earlier stings and the publicity they got was stopping people from engaging in this type of activity.
Allen said this sting produced an especially high number of men charged with compelling prostitution, a third-degree felony. Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force sex stings involve law enforcement officers pretending to arrange sexual encounters with children and then arresting the individuals when they show up, but Greene said he believes many such individuals have actually carried out the real thing.
Allen said the type of child frequently being trafficked in this way in real life is one who is lacking in family support, especially when they have a parent who is addicted to drugs. There was such a case not long ago in Mahoning County, Greene said. Allen said 21 people arrested during a sting last year is the highest number that the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force has had during about six operations in recent years.
Greene said he believes fear of being arrested stops some people from seeking sex with children. Allen said he knows people trying to arrange sex with children are scared because some will say so during the sting.
