www.yahoo.com By Ariel Plasencia
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – Deputies in Hillsborough County made 148 arrests and recovered seven victims in a human trafficking operation labeled “Operation Summer Shield.”
According to Sheriff Chad Chronister, the goal of the operation was to prevent children from becoming victims of human trafficking while they were out of school during summer and had more time to be on the internet.
“So, from April 29, the 102 days during summer until Friday before school started, we really ramped up our efforts to combat human trafficking to assure that no child fell victim to human trafficking operations,” explained Chronister.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office says that the first day of the operation broke records.
“That day, they broke a record for the number of individuals wanting to purchase sex on a single day. That was until the second day when they smashed that record almost an hour before the operation started,” said Chronister.
According to the sheriff’s office, “Operation Summer Shield” resulted in 148 individuals being arrested for various crimes, and 11 individuals were charged with human trafficking.
Chronister says seven victims were rescued. Two of the victims were 17-year-old girls, according to officials.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Sheriff Chronister highlighted the arrests of four of the ‘more egregious offenders.’ John Randall Craddock, 33, was arrested after sending explicit messages to who he thought was a 15-year-old girl, according to the sheriff’s office.
Chronister says he was actually talking with an undercover detective.
Devante Kershaw, 28, was also arrested after communicating with an undercover detective, according to officials…
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE… (yahoo.com)
Home | Caravan to Midnight (zutalk.com)
