Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Monday, Oct. 26, that federal, state, and local law enforcement had rescued 109 human trafficking victims, including 45 children, in a statewide anti-human trafficking operation. 

Operation Autumn Hope, which was coordinated through Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, encompassed more than 50 law enforcement agencies.

Operation Autumn Hope was carried out in various parts of Ohio simultaneously, seeking to:

  • Rescue victims of human trafficking and referring them to social services
  • Recover missing and exploited children
  • Apprehend those seeking to have sex with a minor
  • Arresting male johns seeking to buy sex

In total, 177 people were arrested in the operation.

Mahoning Co. Sheriff told 21 News that 14 men had been arrested in Mahoning County and accused of sex crimes against children.

Those arrested in Mahoning County include (top row, left to right) Bashar Abuzant, Jeffrey Cornelius, John Harmocy, Youssef Jabaly, John Kukura, (middle row, left to right) Sam Lay, Donald Lee, Nathan Lucas, Eric Metansingh, Jarod Mills, (bottom row, left to right) Dwayne Sellers, Apostolos Sisalouis, Jason Walker and Matthew Zanni.

 

The Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force and Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force apprehended 22 individuals seeking sex with a minor. Those arrested and charged with felony counts of importuning, attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, possession of criminal tools and other felony charges include a pastor, students, and a rehabilitation resident advisor.

During the operation last week, the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Trask Force, Columbus PACT Unit, and the Cuyahoga County Human Trafficking Task Force rescued 109 human trafficking victims.

45 children were recovered by the U.S. Marshal’s Service, while 76 missing and exploited children cases were cleared. Among those missing included a 15-year-old girl missing from Cleveland whose recovery linked her and other possible victims to an individual in Columbus suspected of human trafficking; a 15-year-old male with two warrants who is a suspect in multiple shootings and a homicide; and a 14-year-old girl who was reported missing by the Lancaster Police Department who was recovered in Columbus within six hours of being reported missing.

“The success of Operation Autumn Hope is measured not only in the number of arrests but in the lives that were rescued from this evil,” Yost said.

In Cuyahoga, Franklin, and Lucas counties, 157 men were arrested on charges of soliciting and other crimes – a component of Operation Autumn Hope focused on reducing the demand for sex. Those arrested were charged with soliciting, and other charges included a fireman, an attorney, and a motivational speaker.

The agencies and entities that participated in Operation Autumn Hope were the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, U.S. Marshal’s Service, FBI, Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, Columbus Division of Police P.A.C.T. Unit, Columbus Division of Police Missing Persons Unit, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office HOPE Task Force and ICAC Task Force, Columbus City Attorney’s Office, Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office, Dublin Police Department, Powell Police Department, Grove City Police Department, Gahanna Police Department, Upper Arlington Police Department, Westerville Police Department, Grandview Heights Police Department, New Albany Police Department, Southeast Mental Health Addiction Services, Columbus Public Health, The Sanctuary Collective, CATCH Court, Out of Darkness, RREACT Team, Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office, Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force, Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, Mahoning Count Prosecutor’s Office, Canfield Fair Police Department, Youngstown Police Department, Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children, Austintown Police District, Cortland Police Department, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Ohio Investigative Unit, Adult Parole Authority, the Cuyahoga County Regional Human Trafficking Task Force, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, Independence Police Department, Westlake Police Department, Beachwood Police Department, Orange Police Department, Middleburg Heights Police Department, Cuyahoga Department of Children and Family Services, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, and the Renee Jones Empowerment Center.