If youre a special ranger and youre really interested in stopping rustling, you dont sneak out in the middle of the night and unload a bunch of cattle that you secretly microchipped, Simonsen said. In an interview with NBC News, Busse reiterated the denial, saying it was 100 percent false. Low 66F. Ten people were arrested, ranging in age from 23 to 77. Loving County, the least-populated county in the continental U.S., had 57 residents as of the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimate. The operation coincided with the Department of Homeland Securitys Blue Campaign to highlight Human Trafficking Prevention Month, which is January. Federal authorities arrested 46 men in two days after its investigation of sex trafficking cases in North Texas. The Bell County Sheriff's Department says that the sting was part of a Human Trafficking Suppression operation in partnership with the Bell County Organized Crime Unit, the Fort Hood Military Police, and the Fort Hood Criminal Investigations Division. I wasn't a BeyHive member. "There's thousands and thousands of ads posted every day in the metroplex," Perez said. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Keep it Clean. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Cloudy skies this evening followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms overnight. Additionally, one of them received a charge of resisting arrest, but Bell County did not identify which. Below are those formally charged so far in the operation. "Many prostitutes are themselves victims of human trafficking," Cruz said. We will never stop working to identify, locate and apprehend these predators to make our community safer for our children," said Dallas Chief of Police Eddie Garcia. BELTON, Texas (FOX 44) A prostitution sting in Bell County has resulted in ten arrests. I applaud the dedication of these task force groups, including members of the Dallas Police Department, to bring these suspects to justice. She previously worked as a writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where she covered a bit of everything. A high school teacher and football coach. Authorities say they will inform the employers of those arrested. Define Prostitution in Texas A person can be charged with prostitution under Section 43.02 of the Texas Penal Code in two situations: What do we tell our kids? Williams told Baker the bull was feral and came from the river, according to the warrants. I would caution parents to take a good look at yourself, take a good look at the people that you have your children around, understand the environment in which you're letting children have digital equipment in your home," said Hohman. Over the course of the operation, which took place across Feb. 22 and 23, female deputies posed as prostitutes in digital ads on websites reportedly known for promoting prostitution, said the Sheriff's Department. or anything. FRISCO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) Federal authorities announced a major crackdown on prostitution that reveals sex trafficking in North Texas remains an ongoing It also allowed us to recover children and protect them from further harm, said FBI Dallas Acting Special Agent in Charge James J. Dwyer. Those who traffic victims are the scourge of the earth, and we will continue to target those responsible for the trafficking and those who solicit sex from them.. Legal Statement. And the bull was eating his grass, he added. Baker, who declined to be interviewed, arrived to find Jones and his ranch hands loading the dead cattle onto a trailer to take them back to the P&M Jones Family Ranch. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas officials said the undercover operation coincides with the Department of Homeland Securitys Blue Campaign to highlight Human Trafficking Awareness Month. BELTON, Texas ( FOX 44) A prostitution sting in Bell County has resulted in ten arrests. quote: Should the Killeen City Council agree to pay an architect $108,000 to design a new City Hall, which may go before voters in the fall? MENTONE, Texas On a December day in 2021, Loving County Judge Skeet Jones, 71, climbed atop an oilfield tank surrounded by wide-open Texas desert dressed in a business suit and toting a pair of binoculars, hoping to spot an elusive black bull. Be Proactive. Texas father sings 'worship song' to premature son who was given 21% survival rate, in a massive undercover prostitution sting in Texas, resigned after his arrest for solicitation of a prostitute, Fort Worth youth pastor Lamarcus Strickland, the Department of Homeland Securitys Blue Campaign. Known as "Operation Home Alone", law enforcement officials used the undercover operation to target suspects believed to have been preying on young adolescents online. In Frisco, two hotels were used for an undercover operation resulting in the arrests of 46 men in only two days. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, in Jan. 2022, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Criminal Investigations Division (CID) conducted multiple Adult Prostitution Operations and Online Solicitation of Minor Operations throughout the West Texas Region. A 60-day sting operation conducted by law enforcement officers from several agencies netted the arrests of nearly a dozen suspects accused of committing crimes "There are known incidents, though many go unreported, of johns being assaulted, robbed and, right here in Bell County, recently murdered, Cruz said. Read Across America Week at Hay Branch Elementary, Local sorority to host youth symposium in Killeen, Increasing Chance for Severe Storms Thursday | Central Texas Forecast, 3 skyscraper-sized asteroids making approach to Earth this week, Twelve arrested in Waco prostitution sting, Waco Police believe sexual assault suspect has other victims. Baker asked if theyd contacted the sheriffs office and Williams replied that it was above his pay grade. North Texas is under storm risk levels 2, 3 and 4. I never, never, ever had a conversation about stray cattle with the judge.. They may be geared to catching online predators using sites like BackPage.com, drug dealers or johns using Wheat. Among the 46 men included a high school football coach, a youth pastor and a director of operations at a hospital. For a month-long operation, it's very representative of the vast number of people that are addicted to pornography, and what I believe is an epidemic in our country," said Jennifer Hohman, an advocate who helps women and children who have been exploited in sex trafficking. What is a police sting operation? So both forensically, reactively and proactively, we go after these individuals who are exploiting our children," said Detective Jeff Rich, with the Plano Police Department. ), Three days later, Sparks saw the judge at the courthouse and they chatted briefly about the bull, Sparks said. Generally cloudy. I positively identified the pair as being the same reddish-brown cow and calf I had released in Loving County, he wrote. Jones, the scion of a prominent ranching family and the top elected official in this sparsely populated West Texas county for the past 15 years, is charged with three felony counts of livestock theft and one count of engaging in organized crime potentially facing decades in prison if convicted. Rich said many of the arrests were the result of leads generated through reporting to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. She welcomes the enforcement and glad to see authorities focusing it on those who are often forced to sell their bodies. Over the course of two days, officers responded to more than 700 communications from 73 different contacts in response to the ads. Ten people were arrested, On Thursday, the Collin County Sheriff's Office announced its successful sting operation that took place from March 22 through March 24. 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We also had a semi-pro hockey player. The safety of alleged johns is also a concern for law enforcement. Awareness of sexual trafficking and exploitation have grown immensely in recent years, heightened by a handful of high-profile cases. The Sheriff's Department said they are concerned about possible links between prostitution and human trafficking. Threats of harming another They were afraid the bull would get in with their cattle, Jones replied. Market data provided by Factset. Randy Reynolds, the district attorney in charge of prosecuting felony cases, did not return phone calls. Inherently, minor sting operations involve the TABC going undercover to identify establishments that sell alcoholic Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. The aim of the operation was to rescue child victims as well as apprehend abusers who were trafficking illegal images and videos of children forced into sexual Example video title will go here for this video. He later learned that ranch hand Cody Williams, 31, caught the cow, according to the warrants. Bell County Sheriffs Department released the identities of 10 men arrested on prostitution charges in a human trafficking suppression operation that concluded Thursday, according to a news release Saturday. In May, they all were booked into Winkler County Jail and released later the same day on bond. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Baker made it over there before they could be sold, he wrote. So they put the mother in the pen and let her call her calf up, so they could catch it. "They can be subjected to physical and sexual assault, robbery, and even murder. This is the second extensive commercial sex sting operation involving North Texas suburbs in recent months. A youth pastor. 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Baker obtained a brownish-red cow and calf and a black bull and equipped them with microchips. After trying fruitlessly to catch them by putting out feed as bait, Jones and Medlin and the other ranch hands rounded them up in September with the help of a helicopter. Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. ", The Sheriffs Department says it's also concerned with the potential connection between prostitution and human trafficking. or redistributed. On Wednesday and Thursday, digital ads were posted to known websites promoting prostitution. "We had a volunteer firefighter, a director of operations of one of the large medical systems here in the metroplex, we also had a semi pro hockey player who plays on the Allen team as well.". The game warden said he had a confidential informant whod shared text messages from Jones, including one with a picture of a $2,720 check cut three days earlier at a livestock auction in Elk City, Oklahoma, for two steers and a black cow, according to the warrants. each comment to let us know of abusive posts. During this weeks operation, one of the defendants negotiated a price but arrived with no money. On Feb. 22-23, digital ads were placed on known websites promoting prostitution. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. "We had a high school teacher, who is also a football coach, we had a youth pastor," Perez said. Read the crime and public safety news your neighbors are talking about. The accused listed below are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Each of the arrested individuals was charged with Soliciting a Prostitute, a state felony in Texas. During this weeks operation, one of the defendants negotiated a price but arrived with no money. 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