The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) revealed that agents with its Human Trafficking Unit worked with local law enforcement in Williamson County and Spring Hill to arrest 10 men who allegedly solicited minors for sex.
In a press release, TBI explains that on November 16 and November 17, undercover officers placed “several decoy advertisements on websites known to be linked to prostitution and commercial sex.” The portrayed themselves to be minor children, and the agency reported that “ten men were charged with patronizing prostitution of a minor” and were booked into the Williamson County Jail.
TBI credited the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department and Spring Hill Police Department for assisting in the two-day effort. According to the agency’s press release, the men were all assigned bonds ranging from $9,500 to $150,000.
Michael McRedmond was assigned a $9,500 bond; Stanley Lewis Jones, Jr. was assigned a $50,000 bond; Henry Denery Aguilar-Aguirre, Juan Carlos Aguilar, received bonds of $98,000; Salvador Jiminez De Jesus, Shawn Baker, and Carmen Noe Garcia Guox received bonds of $100,000; Selwyn Andre Walker received a $105,000 bond; and Austin Glenn Davenport received a $150,000 bond.
The TBI law enforcement operation came just months after human trafficking victim support group AncoraTN reported a 30 percent increase in human trafficking in Tennessee compared to last year, according to WSMV 4. AncoraTN also estimated a 60 percent increase in the group’s human trafficking referrals for minors.
AncoraTN CEO Kelli Cary told the outlet, “Human trafficking is taking place everywhere in Tennessee.” She added, “In every zip code, every county, it’s on the rise.”
The operation’s results were announced about a week after the agency announced the results of a previous joint operation involving TBI, federal, and local law enforcement. That operation saw 13 children who are suspected victims of human trafficking rescued by authorities between November 2 and 3, including 12 children between the ages of 11 and 17, and a two-month-old infant who was not previously known to authorities.
In October, the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) noted the agency received more than 500 reports about child trafficking when highlighting its new anti-human trafficking team.
Human Trafficking Response Team Director Kate Greer reportedly explained that while many “think it’s just a foreign child chained up in a dark room,” in reality “[i]t’s your neighbors; it’s your friends, probably, and people don’t understand that.”
By way of example, Greer cited two different Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) officers who “identified trafficking victims and called” DCS. She explained the children “were literally found on the side of the road.”
An anti-human trafficking bill was passed by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Bill Lee (R) during the August special session. The bill requires the TBI to “submit a report on child and human trafficking crimes and trends in this state” by December 1 of each year.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Building” by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
