32 Arrested (including a children’s minister) in Knoxville Human Trafficking Operation

[Miles Archer]

The "Facebook Trending" post says that two pastors were arrested.

https://www.facebook.com/topic/Tennessee-Bureau-of-Investigation/116157818396513?source=whfrt&position=2&trqid=6288018850338597461

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation: 2 Pastors Arrested for Sex Trafficking in Undercover Operation
Jason Kennedy and Zubin Parakh were arrested for seeking sex with a minor in an undercover operation targeting sex trafficking and prostitution that saw 32 taken into custody, the agency said.

KNOXVILLE – A three-day operation by Special Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and detectives with the Knoxville Police Department to combat human trafficking in Knoxville has resulted in the arrest of 32 men and women on prostitution and human trafficking-related charges. Two of the men, including a children’s minister, responded to ads for what they thought were girls under the age of 18. The Knoxville anti-trafficking operation, called “Operation Someone Like Me”, is the fifth operation of its kind in the state between the TBI and partner agencies to help identify, investigate and prosecute trafficking, and rescue victims.

With the partnership including the Knoxville Police Department, Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking, End Slavery Tennessee, and Second Life Chattanooga, TBI Agents and intelligence analysts embarked on an undercover operation to identify potential victims of trafficking, arrest those seeking to purchase illicit sex from a juvenile, and learn more about the specific nuances of this type of crime.

“Finding these people who are trying to buy Tennessee children is a priority for us,” says TBI Director Mark Gwyn. “We want anyone responding to these ads to think there may be a TBI Agent on the other end of it. We will do whatever we can to make a difference in reducing the human trafficking that takes place in Tennessee.”

During the three-day operation, undercover Agents posted ads on Backpage.com. During that time, more than 300 contacts were made to those ads. In one ad the Agents posed as a juvenile girl. That ad received more than two dozen contacts.

https://tbinews.wordpress.com/2016/05/20/32-arrested-in-knoxville-human-trafficking-operation/

[UMTerp01]

1. People have no idea how much human trafficking is an issue here in the US

I do many things in my job and one aspect of my job is coordinating with the FBI Victim Specialists when a sting reveals victims of human trafficking and my role is to ensure shelter and advocacy for the victims. When I tell you....people have NO idea how big of an issue human trafficking is. Its everywhere. Its in urban areas and rural areas. Its in poor communities and well to do communities. It is a really big issue. Trafficking in labor and trafficking in sex. Its only gotten worse as well. Many of these youth who are susceptible to being victims of human trafficking have difficult home lives. They are often runaways who get pulled into it to survive and then are trapped. LGBT homeless youth are particularly vulnerable because there aren't enough LGBT specific shelters for them. Human trafficking is the fast growing illegal system out there and the second overall, only behind the drug trade. And drugs and human trafficking go hand in hand.

[Tsiyu]

2. Does civil forfeiture of property

apply to human traffickers?

That might be a way to get it under control. Oh, yeah. And stop the War on Some Drugs and use those funds to go after the real destroyers of lives and futures.

That preacher's face makes me shudder. One of those fire-and-brimstone assholes who makes life hell on earth when none of his "brothers and sisters" are looking. Of course who cares if his god is looking? Apparently, "good Christians" like that human trafficking preacher know there IS no god, or they wouldn't do the things they do.

Glad this group was caught. What kind of lowlife sells other humans? So sick and sad.