Tuscaloosa police on Wednesday announced the arrest of 47 men on a range of charges during the department’s participation in the bi-annual National Johns Suppression Initiative.
On the weekends of Jan. 12-13 and Jan. 19-20, the Tuscaloosa Police Department’s Code Enforcement Unit participated in the initiative begun in 2011 by Cook County, Illinois, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart.
The Tuscaloosa Police Department was the only law enforcement agency in Alabama to participate in the initiative and issued a news release on Wednesday announcing the results of the sting.
In addition to charges of soliciting prostitution, 22 of the 47 suspects also were charged with other crimes, including felonies.
This range of additional charges included unlawful possession of controlled substance and first-degree marijuana possession, along with misdemeanor charges of second-degree marijuana possession, promoting prostitution, resisting arrest, endangering the welfare of a child, receiving stolen property and obstruction of justice, among others.
A total of eight handguns were seized by police and another 44 vehicles towed as a result of the arrests.
TPD spokeswoman Lt. Teena Richardson said the Code Enforcement Unit conducted a sting operation aimed at those soliciting prostitution in the city of Tuscaloosa through advertisements promoting “sex for sale.”
The National Johns Suppression Initiative operation ran from Jan. 7 to Feb. 4 and included more than 30 law enforcement agencies across 16 states.
In total, almost 640 sex buyers were arrested with 18 suspects facing trafficking-related charges. A total of 15 possible human trafficking victims were recovered and offered services, according to information provided by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
Since the Illinois sheriff’s department began the john suppression operations in 2011, participating agencies from across the country have arrested more than 8,200 suspected sex buyers.
For the latest sting, national law enforcement agencies reported:
• 638 sex solicitation arrests
• 18 sex trafficking arrests
• $755,490 in minimum possible fines
• 12 adult victims recovered
• 3 juveniles recovered