Officials arrest 160 people in Florida, Georgia in massive sex trafficking sting operation

In a week-long sting operation carried out by officials in Florida and Georgia to nab as many sex traffickers as possible, authorities were able to arrest over 150 people, including some school teachers and law enforcement officers.

The sting operation, called “Operation Fall Haul II,” was executed across the two states and was successful in locating and identifying two sex trafficking victims, as well as five more who may possibly be victims.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement there may be more victims still to be located. The victims are being treated after their experience and Judd was careful to specify that they are not implicated in the sex trafficking crimes. 

“Our goal is to start services the moment that they are taken into custody and to treat them as what they are, victims, not as suspects in a criminal event,” he said. “All prostitutes taken into custody were offered services by the social services organizations at the operation. Follow up will be conducted with those who are suspected to be sex-trafficked or exploited,” he added.

The arrests included a now former deputy police chief in Cartersville, Georgia, Jason DiPrima, as well as a state corrections officer.

According to Judd, the list also included several school teachers and some other school employees. One of them, an IT expert at a Florida high school, Cameron Burke, was arrested for soliciting a prostitute while he was out on bond from a previous arrest for the assault of a 15-year old girl.

Others arrested include Florida math teacher Carlos Gonzales and John Layton, a physical education teacher from Orange County, as well as two Disney employees. Other notable arrests, according to the Polk County statement, include a couple from Florida who were caught attempting to trade sex for marijuana.