Federal and local law enforcement officers cracked down on human/sex trafficking in Ohio Blue cities and counties. 174 arrests were made in heavy blue areas. Columbus ( Franklin county ), Cleveland ( Cuyahoga county), Toledo ( Lucas county ) Akron ( Summit county ), and Youngstown ( Mahoning county ).
Operation Autumn Hope, coordinated through AG Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, encompassed more than 50 law enforcement agencies and non-government partners to break the cycle that fuels sex trafficking across the state. The broad-based effort, carried out in various parts of the state simultaneously, identified four priorities:
Rescuing victims of human trafficking and referring them to social services
Recovering missing and exploited children
Apprehending those seeking to have sex with a minor
Arresting male johns seeking to buy sex
In all, 109 human trafficking victims were rescued and referred to social services, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office reported. More than 50 agencies participated in the operation,
Below is a partial list of law enforcement that participated.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, U.S. Marshal’s Service, FBI, Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, Columbus Division of Police P.A.C.T. Unit, Columbus Division of Police Missing Persons Unit, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office HOPE Task Force and ICAC Task Force, Columbus City Attorney’s Office, Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office, Dublin Police Department, Powell Police Department, Grove City Police Department, Gahanna Police Department, Upper Arlington Police Department, Westerville Police Department, Grandview Heights Police Department, New Albany Police Department, Southeast Mental Health Addiction Services, Columbus Public Health, The Sanctuary Collective, CATCH Court, Out of Darkness, RREACT Team, Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office, Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force, Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, Mahoning Count Prosecutor’s Office, Canfield Fair Police Department, Youngstown Police Department, Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children, Austintown Police District, Cortland Police Department, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Ohio Investigative Unit, Adult Parole Authority, the Cuyahoga County Regional Human Trafficking Task Force, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, Independence Police Department, Westlake Police Department, Beachwood Police Department, Orange Police Department, Middleburg Heights Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Cuyahoga Department of Children and Family Services, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, and the Renee Jones Empowerment Center.
