79 'Johns' Charged in Pre-Super Bowl Sex Sting

COOK COUNTY, IL - The Cook County Sheriff’s Office rescued 26 women and arrested 79 johns, including one who pulled up in an Uber car, during a three-week nationwide crackdown on prostitution before Super Bowl Sunday.

As one of 23 law enforcement agencies taking part in The National Johns Suppression Initiative, the Sheriff’s Office offered the victims protective and counseling service, according to a Tuesday news release from Sheriff Thomas Dart. Police departments in Broadview, Lansing and Matteson assisted.

A national coalition of law enforcement agencies conducted a sting operation that led to 552 arrests – 522 would-be sex buyers (or “johns”) and 30 pimps or sex traffickers – Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced today.

Nationally, 522 johns and 30 pimps were nabbed in the sting. 73 “adult victims” were recovered.

“Sex trafficking continues to destroy countless lives, and this broad national movement should send a strong message to prospective johns that their ‘hobby’ is much more than a ‘victimless’ crime,”said Dart. “It’s particularly meaningful that this sting culminated on the day of the Super Bowl, which unfortunately has emerged as a prominent haven for sex trafficking.”

Since the nationwide pre-Super Bowl project began in 2011, this yearly sting has accounted for more than 4,400 arrests of would-be sex buyers.