Officer Commended For Role In Taking Child Sex Trafficker Off Streets

OAK LAWN, IL — An Oak Lawn police officer is being commended for his role in helping to take a dangerous child sex trafficker off the streets when he stopped him for a minor traffic violation.

David L. Smith, 28, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was sentenced in March to 25 years in a federal prison for violently sex trafficking two children in the Chicago area and Wisconsin. Smith had pleaded guilty in 2021 to federal sex trafficking charges.

On Oct. 20, 2019, Officer Bob Carroll, of the Oak Lawn Police Department, stopped a driver, later identified as Smith, for a minor traffic violation. Police said the car smelled of pot, and Smith told Carroll that he had smoked marijuana earlier. Smith also did not have insurance on the car, stating that he had only recently purchased the car, police said.

Carroll asked Smith to step out of the car, where he was taken into custody. The two female passengers in the vehicle were also asked to exit the vehicle. The officer noticed other items amiss in the car usually associated with prostitution, including condoms, six cell phones, multiple key cards for different motels, women’s bras and lingerie, police said. There was also a receipt for a room at a hotel near O’Hare International Airport from the previous night.

Due to the youthful appearance of the two passengers, Carroll asked for their names and their relationship to the driver. Both were evasive and inconsistent in their answers. Eventually, Carroll was able to determine that the girls were 17 and 16 years old.

Given the suspicious items found in the vehicle and the girls’ false statements, police said Carroll suspected that Smith might be involved in child sex trafficking.

Both teens were taken to the Oak Lawn police station for more questioning. DCFS and the FBI were also contacted.

Carroll spoke to the mother of one of the girls, who said her daughter had run away from a group home. The mother also said she was aware her daughter has posted nude pictures of herself on various “escort” websites and that there was a human sex trafficking ring operating in Milwaukee.

After an exhaustive investigation, law enforcement confirmed that Smith was trafficking the teens as part of his human sex trafficking ring in the Midwest. Nude images of one of the girls appeared on SkipTheGames and MegaPersonals escort websites, the FBI said.

Smith would arrange for the children to meet customers in hotel rooms, with Smith keeping all the money that the children received, a federal complaint said. On at least one occasion, federal prosecutors said Smith hit the 17-year-old girl in the face after she mistakenly accepted fake money from a customer. On another occasion, the feds said Smith hit the 16-year-old girl in the face after he learned that the girl had contacted her mother.

One of the teens told police that Smith would sit in his vehicle outside the hotel while she was inside “working.” In case something went wrong, she could text or call Smith for help, the federal complaint said.

The other teen said she only knew Smith for a day, and went to Chicago with him to “kick it.”
Since the investigation was ongoing, the FBI told Carroll that Smith could be released.

“Bob is one of our most proactive officers. He is very thorough on his traffic stops, which usually leads to recovery of illegal firearms, drugs, or other arrests,” Oak Lawn Police Chief Dan Vittorio said. “Bob is also great with the public. He is assigned to our bike patrol in the summer and routinely volunteers for assignments.”

Smith was arrested and charged on April 9, 2020. He pleaded guilty to the charges last year and was sentenced in March. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp, Jr., also ordered Smith to pay $50,000 in restitution to each of his victims.

“Defendant caused his minor victims irreparable harm and trauma by causing them to engage in commercial sex on numerous occasions,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Marie E. Ursini argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “These victims will carry the emotional scars of the defendant’s actions for the rest of their lives.”

Carroll received a commendation at the Oak Lawn Village Board meeting on April 12.

“Due to Officer Carroll’s continuous tenacity and unrelenting desire to conduct a complete and thorough investigation, what began as a minor traffic violation resulted in the arrest and capture of a dangerous juvenile sex trafficking offender. Officer Carroll’s traffic stop gleaned essential information which was utilized to obtain a federal criminal complaint and warrant.”

Carroll is also an animal lover and was part of a story Patch covered a few years ago when he rescued eight tiny ducklings from a storm drain.