250 Arrested In National Prostitution Sting In Houston

HOUSTON, TX — Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, and members of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the Houston Police Department, announced the arrests of dozens of men in Houston and Harris County involved in the sex trade, or who responded to ads related to prostitution or human trafficking.

The annual operation, known as the National John Suppression Initiative, was coordinated out of Cook County, Illinois with the help of 37 law enforcement agencies in 17 states.

“Nationally, more than 1,000 sex buyers were arrested during this operation, and one- quarter of those arrests happened right here in Houston and Harris County,” Gonzalez said at a press conference Friday.

Gonzalez said the operation was a relatively simple one that involved the placement of ads on websites frequented by men who will pay for sex.

Once the ads were active, investigators waited for the phone to ring.

Between June 28 through July 31, sheriff’s deputies arrested 161 sex buyers, while HPD officers arrested 88 sex buyers and 9 sex traffickers.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office Vice Unit conducted the sting operation with the cooperation of eight different hotel operators.

Some of the significant arrests included:

• A man in possession of 60 grams of Hydrocodone and $4,360 cash, which was submitted for possible seizure
• A man who was previously arrested for prostitution by the Vice Unit in January
• An associate pastor
• A convicted sex offender
• A man in possession of $6,722, which was submitted for possible seizure; and
• Two suspects with handguns in their vehicles.

In the State of Texas, selling or buying sex is a Class B Misdemeanor that is punishable by up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine.

But if the person solicited for sex or sexual favors is under the age of 18, it becomes a felony offense.

“The Department and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, along with the Sheriff’s Office, aggressively pursues the traffickers and the buyers,” said Assistant Chief Matt Slinkard, who leads the investigative and support operations for the Houston Police Department. “Those are the lead factors driving the demand for sexual exploitation, of what are some of our most vulnerable segments of our population. This partnership is a testament to the great work we can do and how we can be responsive to victims when we collaborate together.”

Image: Sheriff Ed Gonzalez

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