Houston County, GA

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

Houston County is a county located in central Georgia with a population of approximately 167,000 residents. Its county seat is Perry, although the city of Warner Robins is substantially larger in both area and population. Instances of prostitution and sex trafficking have recently been documented in the county. Among the more serious issues associated with the commercial sex market in the county is the sex trafficking of adults and minors. For example, in 2013, five men were arrested in hotels in Central Georgia on pimping charges during an investigation conducted by the Perry Police Department. The investigation specifically focused on apprehending individuals seeking to sexually exploit minors in exchange for money. All five men were arrested and charged with pimping, a highly aggravated misdemeanor in Georgia. Officials stated that no minors were discovered during the investigation. The men were transferred to the Houston County jail upon their arrest.

Additionally, in 2015, two Houston County men were arrested on sex trafficking/pimping charges during a nationwide operation led by the FBI and the National Center on Missing and Exploited Children focused on apprehending individuals seeking to sexually exploit minors in exchange for money. Operation Cross County IX resulted in the arrest of 153 alleged sex traffickers/pimps and the rescue of 143 child sex trafficking victims. Although the operation targeted individuals sex trafficking/pimping minors, the two Houston County men were accused of sex trafficking two adult women. According to the Perry Police Department, the men were arrested and charged with pimping.

Loss of employment and identity disclosure are consequences of purchasing sex that have occurred in Houston County. For example, in October of 2018, an investigation conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation into alleged prostitution activity resulted in the arrest of an assistant principal at Huntington Middle School in Houston County. He was charged with pandering and solicitation of sodomy, and his employment was later terminated.

State Georgia
Type County
Population 166829
Location
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