Youth pastor, hospital director among 46 men arrested in North Texas sex trafficking cases
Forty-six men who included a high school football coach, a youth pastor and a director of operations at a hospital were recently arrested during a multi-agency operation targeting the demand for commercial sex in North Texas, a federal agency announced on Friday.
The names of the suspects were not released by federal authorities.
The joint law enforcement operation coincided with the Department of Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign to highlight Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
Federal authorities noted that sex trafficking involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of commercial act in exchange for something of value, or if the person performing the commercial sex act is under 18 years of age.
“Thwarting sex trafficking is one of our agency’s top priorities, one that every law enforcement office that has a role on the HSI Dallas led North Texas Trafficking Task Force takes very seriously,” said Lester R. Hayes Jr., HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge., in a Friday news release. “By targeting those involved in this crime, we hope to disrupt this activity and provide assistance to human trafficking victims by getting them connected to the advocates and resources they need.”
Law enforcement agencies participating in the operation included, the Arlington Police Department, Colleyville Police Department, Collin County Sheriff’s Office, Dallas Police Department, Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, Dallas County District Attorney Investigators, Flower Mound Police Department, Frisco Police Department, Irving Police Department, Midlothian Police Department, and the Tarrant County Human Trafficking Task Force.
“The victims of these heinous crimes are treated like commodities, used to make as much money as possible, as quickly as possible,” said Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn in the news release. “Those who traffic victims are the scourge of the earth, and we will continue to target those responsible for the trafficking and those who solicit sex from them.”
Anyone who is or who knows a potential victim in this, or any other case of sex trafficking or human trafficking or has any information regarding this or any other investigation can contact Homeland Security Investigations Toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-347-2423.
HSI is a directorate of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move.
HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 6,800 special agents assigned to 225 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries.
This story was originally published January 20, 2023 at 1:47 PM.
