East Ridge, TN
Categories:
Tactics Used |
|
---|---|
Auto Seizure | ✓ |
Buyer Arrests | ✓ |
Cameras | ✓ |
Community Service | ✓ |
Employment Loss | ✓ |
Identity Disclosure | ✓ |
IT Based Tactics | ✓ |
John School | ✓ |
Letters | ✓ |
License Suspension | ✓ |
Neighborhood Action | ✓ |
Public Education | ✓ |
Reverse Stings | ✓ |
SOAP Orders | ✓ |
Web Stings | ✓ |
East Ridge is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the city population was just over 22,000. East Ridge is bordered by Chattanooga to the west, north, and east, and the Georgia state line to the south. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Prostitution activity has been well-documented in the community, as well as throughout the county, for decades. This activity and the ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses.
Consumer level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking, and has therefore been targeted by local law enforcement agencies as a strategy for prevention and response. For example, twelve men were arrested for patronizing prostitution in East Ridge, Tennessee in June 2017. East Ridge police said undercover officers put an ad online, setting up a meeting with suspected “johns” at a local hotel for sexual acts in exchange for cash. The identities of the arrested sex buyers were publicly released, and included a local school teacher, emergency room doctor, certified nursing assistant, and a commercial truck driver.
Key Partners
- East Ridge Police Department
- Hamilton Co. Sheriff’s Office
- Chattanooga Police Department
- Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
Key Sources
Web-Based Reverse Sting, Identity Disclosure:
Background on Prostitution, Sex Trafficking in the Area:
- “Sex Trafficking Study Cites Hamilton County”, Chattanooga Times Free Press, May 19 2011.
- “Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Sex Trafficking Survey Provokes Questions by Police”, Chattanooga Times Free Press, November 14 2011.
- “Chattanooga: Police Document First Sex Trafficking Case”, Chattanooga Times Free Press, January 23 2013.
- “Female Human Trafficker Sentenced; Defendant Ran an Interstate Prostitution Ring Involving a Juvenile”, U.S. States News Service, April 29 2013.
- “Troutman Gets 27-Month Federal Sentence in Traveling Prostitution Case”, Chattanoogan, August 19 2013.
- “How a 15-Year-Old Girl Was Allegedly Abducted into Prostitution,” Flint Journal, June 11 2015.
- “Georgia Man Arrested for Human Trafficking, Promoting Prostitution,” Chattanoogan, February 12 2016.
- https://wdef.com/human-trafficking-prostitution-charges/ (2018)
- http://www.chattanoogan.com/City-Taking-Steps-To-Deal-With.aspx (2018)
State | Tennessee |
Type | City |
Population | 22187 |
Location |
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