Hancock County, OH
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 | ✓ |
Hancock County, Ohio has a population of approximately 67,000 and located in the northwestern region of the state. Its county seat is the city of Findlay, and other noteworthy communities include Bluffton. Prostitution activity has been well-documented within the county, and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local commercial sex market is sex trafficking.
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. County agencies have supported demand reduction activities in multiple communities, including Findlay and Bluffton. For example, to identify and apprehend local sex buyers driving the prostitution and sex trafficking markets, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and municipal police have conducted reverse stings. For example, in December 2014, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office conducted an undercover operation in Bluffton and arrested two men for solicitation of prostitution. The precise location of the operation was not released. The Hancock-METRICH Enforcement Unit and the Wood County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office in the reverse sting.
In December 2016, an undercover operation targeting human trafficking in Bluffton resulted in the arrest of four male sex buyers. The arrested men were charged in Findlay Municipal Court with soliciting prostitution, and their identities were included in news releases. The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Hancock-METRICH Criminal Task Force and the Wood County Sheriff’s Office. The operation ran from 4 p.m. to about 11 p.m. on one day. The location could not be released as it was used by police for other undercover operations. The operation involved undercover officers posing as prostituted women; the officer would make plans to meet with the suspect and would talk to them before charging them with a crime if they produced enough evidence for probable cause, then the team went in and made the arrest.
Key Partners
- Hancock County Sheriff’s Office
- Hancock-METRICH Criminal Task Force
- Hancock-METRICH Enforcement Unit
- Wood County Sheriff’s Office
- Findlay Police Department
- Bluffton Police Department
- METRICH Enforcement Unit (Metro-Richland County)
Key Sources
Reverse Stings, Identity Disclosure:
- “2 Arrested in Prostitution Sting”, Findlay Courier, April 25 2014.
- “Findlay Prostitution Bust Nets Six Arrests”, CBS/WTOL-TV 11, May 9 2014.
- “Six People Arrested in Findlay Prostitution Sting”, Fostoria Review Times, May 9 2014.
- “6 Arrested on Solicitation Charges”, Toledo Blade, May 10 2014.
- https://otfca.net/sex-trafficking-arrests-made-in-bluffton (2014)
- https://otfca.net/five-arrested-in-undercover-human-trafficking-investigation (2016)
- https://www.limaohio.com/human-trafficking-sting-in-bluffton-results-in-charges (2016)
Sex Buyer Arrest, Identity Disclosure, Loss of Employment:
- https://www.limaohio.com/news/some-sex-related-charges-dropped-against-former-van-wert-findlay-priest (2020)
- https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/the-fbi-announces-the-federal-arrest-of-michael-zacharias (2020)
- https://www.thecompassnews.org/toledo-diocesan-priest-on-leave-after-arrest-on-sex-trafficking-charges (2020)
- https://www.toledoblade.com/grand-jury-returns-10-count-indictment-on-findlay-priest-accused-of-sex-trafficking (2020)
- https://www.limaohio.com/some-sex-related-charges-dropped-against-former-van-wert-findlay-priest (2022)
Sex Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation in the Area:
- “FBI Raids Massage Parlors in Findlay, Toledo”, ABC/WTVG-TV 13, November 8 2013.
- https://www.toledoblade.com/grand-jury-returns-10-count-indictment-on-findlay-priest-accused-of-sex-trafficking (2020)
- https://www.limaohio.com/bluffton-couple-indicted-for-human-trafficking (2021)
- https://www.limaohio.com/jurors-finds-bluffton-man-guilty-in-sex-trafficking-case (2022)
- https://www.limaohio.com/bluffton-woman-will-serve-18-years-for-human-trafficking (2022)
- https://www.limaohio.com/some-sex-related-charges-dropped-against-former-van-wert-findlay-priest (2022)
Background on Prostitution in the Area:
- “Findlay Couple Convicted of Promoting Prostitution”, Bryan Times, September 25 1996.
- “Four Face Prostitution-Related Charges”, Findlay Courier, November 8 2010.
- “Prostitution Charges Tied to National Sting”, Findlay Courier, November 10 2010.
- “Woman Enters Plea to Procuring Charge”, Findlay Courier, January 28 2011.
- “Man Charged in Prostitution Sting Pleads to Lesser Charge”, Findlay Courier, February 4 2011.
- “Judge Sentences Toledo Man on Procuring Charge”, Findlay Courier, March 25 2011.
- https://timesbulletin.com/Content/Social/Social/Article/Local-woman-arrested-for-online-soliciting (2015)
- “Prostitution ‘big’ in region; online ads lure customers,” Findlay Courier, April 23, 2016.
- https://thecourier.com/seven-women-arrested-in-hancock-county-prostitution-probe (2018)
- https://wkxa.com/owner-of-massage-business-in-findlay-charged-with-promoting-prostitution (2019)
| State | Ohio |
| Type | County |
| Population | 75765 |
| Location |
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