FORT WORTH (1080 KRLD) - A human trafficking sting led by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, dubbed Operation Buyer Beware, has netted scores of arrests.
"We've arrested 115 people for felony solicitation," Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn said in a Monday afternoon news conference. "100% were male in this arrest, from age 20 to 75, and several of them were repeat offenders."
Not only was the range in age among those arrested wide, but so were their backgrounds.
"These people (who) were arrested were from every walk of life," says Sheriff Waybourn, "from every socio-economic group, from every ethnicity or race."
Waybourn says human trafficking is a major problem not only in North Texas but all across the country.
"It is an evil that is with us," Waybourn says, "and we're trying to send a signal today that this will not be tolerated in Tarrant County."
Waybourn says contrary to what some people may believe, solicitation of prostitution is not a victimless crime.
"We know the average age of the person who's in the sex trade business started at the age of 14, and that they are a victim of this and they're trafficked around the country," Waybourn says. "And when they come here, we're going to be trying to rescue them, as well as going after the solicitor."
Under a new law passed by legislature, solicitation of prostitution is now a state jail felony.
Waybourn says the consequences for those arrested go far beyond the two years behind bars they face if convicted.
"They're in danger of losing their jobs, their professions, and those kind of things with a felony rap," says Waybourn. "So the consequences are huge."
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