Sex Trafficking Ring Protected By Fairfax Police, Former Chief Lawsuit Alleges

FAIRFAX, VA — Fairfax County Police Department and former Chief Ed Roessler were named in a civil rights lawsuit filed in federal court that accuses FCPD officers of protecting a sex trafficking ring in Northern Virginia, according to news reports.

Civil rights lawyer Victor Glasberg filed the lawsuit in October on the behalf of a Costa Rican woman who claimed that FCPD officers would tip off the sex trafficking ring to stop its online advertisements prior to a police sting operation. In exchange for them doing this, the woman would provide the officers with sex, according to NBC4 reporter Matthew Barakat.

Last week, Glasberg updated the lawsuit to include FCPD officers Michael O. Barbazette of Manassas and Jason J. Mardocco of Gainesville, Barakat reported.

Court documents say the sex trafficking ring operated from 2010 through 2012.

Read NBC4's full report: Suit: Fairfax Police Officers Protected Sex Trafficking Ring