Wilson County, TN

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

Wilson County is a county of about 140,000 residents in Middle Tennessee, just east of Nashville. Its county seat is Lebanon and its largest city is Mt. Juliet. The county is part of the Nashville-DavidsonMurfreesboroFranklin Metropolitan Statistical Area. Prostitution and child sex trafficking have been documented in the county.

To combat consumer-level demand for commercial sex, sex buyer arrests with identity disclosure have occurred locally. At least one incident has also resulted in employment loss. In March 2013, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) arrested a former Lebanon Police Department officer on misconduct charges after the Wilson County grand jury returned an indictment on the TBI investigation. The man was indicted on official misconduct and patronizing prostitution for an incident that occurred in November 2012. The 15th Judicial District Attorney General’s Office requested the TBI investigate misconduct allegations that the narcotics detective was exchanging money for sex from a confidential informant after being informed of the allegations by the Lebanon Police Department. The TBI substantiated the allegations and presented the case to the grand jury, after which the man was arrested. His identity was released to the press. The officer had been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation and later resigned from the Lebanon Police Department.

In March 2015, two Georgia men were arrested in Wilson County by the TBI after being indicted in connection with a sex trafficking investigation involving a minor victim. The two men were charged with several counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor for crimes that allegedly occurred in Wilson County. The men allegedly sexually abused the victim in September 2011 and the investigation into the sex trafficking case began in August 2012. The two men were also charged with aggravated statutory rape stemming from the same incident. Their identities were released to the press.

Key Partners

  • Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI)
  • Lebanon Police Department
  • Wilson County Grand Jury
  • 15th Judicial District Attorney General’s Office
State Tennessee
Type County
Population 140604
Location
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