(Toledo News Now) - Where is it happening?
Anywhere! Truck stops, hotels, motels and rest areas
The advent of the internet has drastically changed the prostitution industry. Backpage, City Vibe, Exotic Review, Facebook and Twitter have made it easy to conduct this type of business. While the internet may allow some kids, women and men to solicit themselves for money on their own, the majority of the time they're not voluntarily performing sexual acts for their financial gain; a pimp or trafficker is usually pushing sex workers into the hands of their clients.
Toledo is an origin city – young girls and boys are often recruited here, unknowingly groomed for the prostitution industry and then taken from Toledo to larger cities. It's a family business. There seems to be a generational involvement with pimps in Northwest Ohio—families are involved in the business year after year. Pimps can be female. It doesn't necessarily have to be a guy. There are a lot of instances where the person facilitating this type of activity is a woman. –David Dustin, Supervisory Senior Resident Agent, FBI
Wood County
Prostitution
2013
99 arrests
Toledo Police Dept.
Prostitution
2013
86 arrests
Ohio Attorney General
2013
30 human trafficking investigations
16 arrests
7 convictions
• According to the FBI, the average lifespan of a prostitute is 7 years as a result of drug overdoses and homicides.
• The FBI estimates 85% of commercial sex workers experience some degree of force, fraud or coercion.
• The International Labor Organization estimates human trafficking, the selling of a person for forced labor is a $32 billion global business.
• The US Dept. of Justice reports the profit made each year from human trafficking is $9.8 billion – the internet is helping increase profitability and frequency.
February 13
Knights Inn, Rossford
Wood County Sheriff's Office
Ottawa County Sheriff's Office
Rossford Police
Perrysburg Township Police
Room 104 – Team of police officers fitted with surveillance, video recorders and mics
Room 106 – undercover female cop
Jim Pheils
Toledo, Ohio
45
Solicitation
Sexual Imposition
Gary Noplis
Palmyra, Michigan
42
Solicitation
Timothy Hartzler
Bluffton, Ohio
65
Solicitation
Michael Pinter
South Lyon, Michigan
35
Solicitation
Goal: Reduce demand for commercialized sex
Fee: $300 – the program is at NO cost to taxpayers
Requirement: Must attend a one-time class and remain free from reoffending for one year in order to receive lesser penalty
Men who attend are taught the following:
• Health risks associated with prostitution
• Connection between commercial sex and human trafficking
• Legal consequences
• Encouraged to explore the psycho-social reasons they paid for sex
The Lucas County program began four years ago.
In 2013, 18 men participated.
The Ohio Attorney General released a report with the following local law enforcement violations.
For more information about Ohio's plan to curb prostitution and human trafficking, review House Bill 130.
