Lima, 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 ✓

Lima is a city of approximately 36,000 residents. Located in western Ohio, it is the county seat of Allen County. Local residents and businesses have reported high levels of prostitution activity, often concentrated in the Kibby Corners area, for over a decade. There have also been multiple, well-documented cases of local and regional sex trafficking. For example, in 2012 the skeletal remains of a 14-year-old runaway who went missing in 1999 were found after the home where she was last seen was demolished. The home in Lima was owned by a suspect who had killed himself in 2002 while in prison for the rape of a 12-year-old girl. Police said the man had also been linked to human trafficking, and had been arrested in 2001 and charged with multiple counts of rape and child pornography (i.e., child sexual abuse materials) involving local girls. More recently, in January 2021, a couple was indicted on 15 human trafficking-related counts by an Allen County grand jury for trafficking a young girl for prostitution since she was 12 years of age.

To address the issues of prostitution and sex trafficking, the Lima Police Department has routinely conducted street-level reverse stings to identify and apprehend sex buyers. The sweeps have resulted in up to 70 prostitution-related arrests in the city in a single year. Once charged, sex buyers have had their names and other identifying information released to the local media. Those arrested have included a city pastor, local coach, and the mayor of Ottawa, Ohio.

Key Sources

Street-Level Reverse Stings, Identity Disclosure:

Web-Based Reverse Stings, Identity Disclosure:

Identity Disclosure:

Sex Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation in the Area:

Background on Prostitution in the Area:

Documented Violence Against Individuals Engaged in Prostitution in the Area:

State Ohio
Type City
Population 35868
Location
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