161 'johns' caught in statewide sting

Oct. 4—COLUMBUS — In the first statewide sting targeting the "johns" buying sex since Ohio enacted tougher human trafficking penalties, 161 people, including nine in Toledo, were arrested over the last few days.

Three of those statewide believed they were soliciting a minor, Attorney General Dave Yost said Monday.

"If there are no buyers, there will be no trafficker," he said. "Getting rid of the demand for the purchase of sex is probably a little bit of a tall order, but reducing the demand means that we reduce the number of people who are victimized by the trafficker."

Among those arrested as a part of Operation Ohio Knows was Elyria City Council member Mark Jessie, as well as a firefighter, teacher, professor, home contractor, and pilot. One of those arrested had a 2-year-old child in the car at the time.

Fifty-one alleged victims, those being trafficked, were offered social services, part of the state's efforts to treat them more like victims than criminals. But most were also arrested. Mr. Yost noted the debate continues over whether human trafficking victims should be arrested, but he said it sometimes is the arrest that leads them to seek drug treatment and other help.

Nearly 100 law enforcement federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies were involved in the sting, which took place between Sept. 24 and Monday.

Mr. Yost's office said a coinciding operation by the U.S. Marshals Service found 10 missing children, none of them in Toledo.

In addition to the seven alleged "johns," the attorney general's office reported a total of 23 arrests in Toledo for selling sex over three separate days. Six were referred to social services.

"By targeting those involved in this crime, we hope to disrupt this activity and provide assistance to human trafficking victims by getting them connected to advocates and resources," Toledo Police Capt. Joseph Heffernan said in a written statement.

Mr. Yost was joined at the media conference by representatives of law enforcement in Franklin, Montgomery, Portage, Summit, and Lorain counties.

"This is not just something that happens in the hood in the city," Mr. Yost said. "It's in every county. It's in every town. It's happening all over Ohio..., and that's why this fight is so important."

The crime of buying sex under state law has been elevated to a first-degree misdemeanor, which can carry up to six months in jail. The crime is now more severe than the act of selling sex.

Those convicted must also undergo trafficking education.

But that doesn't go far enough, Mr. Yost said.

"I understand that it's controversial," he said. "People think it's mean. I don't care. I want to see a john registry that's publicly facing, because we're not going to cut the demand significantly until people are afraid that their wives, their girlfriends, and their daughters are going to find out what they've been up to.

"It's time to make that collected in one place and publicly visible, because that is a bigger deterrent than even the arrest, even more than a fine," Mr. Yost said.

Some defendants were also charged with drug and illegal firearm possession.

The Ottawa and Defiance county sheriffs' offices were also among those participating in the operation.

First Published October 4, 2021, 1:02pm