Tarrant County, TX
Categories:
Tactics Used |
|
---|---|
Reverse stings | ✓ |
Shaming | ✓ |
Auto seizure | ✓ |
Community service | ✓ |
Public education | ✓ |
Neighborhood action | ✓ |
SOAP orders | ✓ |
John school | ✓ |
Letters | ✓ |
Cameras | ✓ |
Web stings | ✓ |
License suspension | ✓ |
Tarrant County is situated in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The county seat is Fort Worth, and its population is over 1.8 million. Like most large population centers, human trafficking and prostitution activity in the area are well documented. For example,in 2013 two Tarrant County men were sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for sex trafficking. One man pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking of a minor, and the other pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion. Investigators had learned that a 16-year-old girl had been working as a prostitute for a suspect while she was working as a stripper at a Fort Worth night club. The suspect posted advertisements of her on websites and drove her to hotel rooms in the DFW area and directed her to have sex with men for money. The offender took all of the proceeds, provided her with necessities such as food and clothing, and provided condoms and hotel rooms for her to use. The second trafficker had exploited a 19-year-old woman in essentially the same way, and the victim testified that she was afraid to leave the offenders who had choked her, pulled her hair, poured drinks on her head and threatened to harm her – while pushing her to work longer hours and acquire more clients. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, as well as the North Texas Trafficking Task Force, including the Arlington, Dallas and Fort Worth police departments.
Among the tactics used to address both prostitution and sex trafficking are those that target consumer level demand for commercial sex. In 2018, a new Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office Intelligence Unit had made sex trafficking its top target. The unit reportedly conducts “john” suppression stings, where they target men trying to purchase sex. In August, 2018, thirty male suspects were arrested and charged with prostitution as part of a joint operation between the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office and Arlington Police Department. The sting focused on people soliciting sex, and was affiliated with the National Johns Suppression Initiative, according to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office.
Several cities within Tarrant County also focus on combating demand. For example, the Fort Worth Police Department began conducting large-scale street-level reverse stings in the early 1980s. One operation in 1986 netted 81 johns in a single sweep. Shaming is also an important element of Fort Worth police response to combating commercial sex sales. In 2007, a program called “John TV” was introduced, and police have posted the names and photographs of people arrested for solicitation on both the city’s web site and on its community cable TV.
Key Partners
- Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office
- Homeland Security
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Homeland Security Investigations
- North Texas Trafficking Task Force
- Arlington Police Department
- Dallas Police Department
- Fort Worth Police Department
- Valiant Hearts
Key Sources
Reverse Stings:
- “FW Police Arrest 81 Men in Prostitution Sting”, Dallas Morning News, April 20 1986.
- “19 Men Arrested in Fort Worth Prostitution Sting; Riverside Residents’ Complaints Prompt Undercover Investigation”, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 19 2000.
- “Police Arrest Eight Men in ‘John Sting’; Officers Target Area Frequented by Prostitutes”, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 21 2001.
- http://www.fox4news.com/news/8-men-arrested-in-fort-worth-in-nationwide-sex-trafficking-sting
- https://www.star-telegram.com/news/Tarrant County prostitution sting nets 30; will it curb demand in sex trafficking? (2018)
- https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/tarrant-county-prostitution-sting-nets-30-will-it-curb-demand-in-sex-trafficking (2018)
- https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/CPS-Worker-Nabbed-in-Online-Sex-Sting (2018)
- https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2018/09/27/north-texas-cps-worker-charged-online-sex-solicitation-sting/ (2018)
- https://www.cookcountysheriff.org/national-sex-buyer-sting-nets-more-than-390-arrests/ (2019)
Shaming and “John TV”:
- “John TV” Overview, Fort Worth Police Department.
- “Prostitution Suspects to Be in the Glare of the Public Eye”, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 28 2007.
- “‘John TV’ Premieres”, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 15 2007.
Sex Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation in the Area:
- “Dozens Rescued from Sex Ring, Feds Say”, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 18 2002.
- “3 Suspects in Prostitution Inquiry Will Be Charged as Juveniles”, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 22 2008.
- “Former Soldier Charged in Fort Worth Trafficking Case”, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 20 2012.
- “Human Trafficking on the Rise Across North Texas”, CBS/KTVT-TV 11, September 21 2012.
- “A Tarrant County Couple Pimped Out a 15-Year-Old Girl for Four Months, the Feds Say”, Dallas Observer, April 18 2013.
- “Tarrant County Men Get 15 Years for Forcing Women into Prostitution”, Dallas Morning News, June 5 2013.
- “Sex Trafficking Sentence in Fort Worth”, CBS/KEYE-TV 42, October 18 2013.
- “Texas Woman Sentenced for Forcing Girl into Prostitution”, CBS/KWTX-TV 10, October 18 2013.
- “Woman Gets Six Years in Prison for Forcing Teen into Prostitution in Fort Worth”, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 18 2013.
- “Man Sentenced after Trying to Force 15-Year-Old Girl into Prostitution”, CBS/KHOU-TV 11, November 13 2013.
- “Missouri Couple Charged with Luring Girls into Prostitution,” Lake Expo, August 27 2015.
- https://tylerpaper.com/news/local/tyler-prostitution-case-reveals-insight-into-modern-day-commercial-sex/ (2017)
- https://www.news-journal.com/tyler-man-arrested-on-child-sex-trafficking-charge (2018)
Background on Prostitution in the Area:
- David C. Humphrey, “Prostitution”, Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association.
- http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/prostitution-sting-nets-11-people-by-trolling-ads-on-backpagecom-9494923 (2017)
State | Texas |
Type | County |
Population | 1809034 |
Location |
Comments are closed.