NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A three-day operation by Special Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and partner agencies to combat human trafficking in Nashville has resulted in the arrest of 41 individuals on prostitution-related charges; 34 men, six women and one juvenile.
More than half of the men responding to ads tried to buy sex from a minor. The Nashville anti-trafficking operation, called “Operation Someone Like Me”, is the sixth of its kind in the state between the TBI and partner agencies to help identify, investigate and prosecute trafficking, and rescue victims. Those arrested include a high school teacher, a college football player, a truck driver, a student and a state IT Specialist.
Click here for a full list of those arrested.
Along with detectives with the Metro Nashville Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI, and the nonprofit End Slavery Tennessee, TBI Special Agents and intelligence analysts conducted the undercover operation to identify potential victims of trafficking and arrest those seeking to purchase illicit sex from a juvenile. During the three-day operation, undercover Agents posted ads on Backpage.com, and 485 men responded to those ads posted. More than 5,300 contacts were made to those ads, through texts or phone calls. In some ads, undercover Agents posed as a juvenile girl. Eighteen men responded, and paid to have sex with an underage female.
The Davidson County District Attorney’s office will review each case to determine whether additional charges are warranted.
With the assistance of the nonprofit agency End Slavery Tennessee, the undercover operation also identified potential victims of trafficking. The women arrested were each offered services, including housing, counseling and addiction treatment. One woman took advantage of those services. She left the operation and was immediately placed in a safe house.
Last year, as part of its commitment to address this issue, the TBI unveiled a public awareness campaign, entitled “IT Has To Stop,” which includes online resources, public service announcements, and contact information for nonprofits who work with survivors of human trafficking. Visit www.ITHasToStop.com for more information.