CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. – A monthslong joint investigation between federal, state, and local law enforcement into suspected sex trafficking in Southeast Georgia has resulted in the arrest of more than a dozen people who now face state charges, with others facing federal charges.
The investigation revealed that men were willing to pay significant amounts of money to sexually abuse children. Notably, not all suspects were in the country legally, and in one instance, a suspect was caught transporting an illegal immigrant from Texas to Georgia to work as a sex worker.
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In bodycam footage obtained from St. Mary’s Police, officers can be seen arresting multiple suspects who believed they were meeting teenage girls for sex as part of undercover operations targeting sex trafficking in Camden County.
The suspects were primarily individuals willing to pay hundreds of dollars to meet and have sex with girls as young as 14. Undercover investigators posed as young teenage girls on a website known for escort and prostitution services.
News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney, who is also a retired JSO Director of Investigations and Homeland Security, said he wasn’t surprised that it didn’t take long for sex trafficking customer to make contact with what they believed to be young girls.
“In my history of dealing with this kind of decoy setup, it’s like fishing,” Hackney said. “Once you place that lure in the water, almost instantly you have hits on your target.”
Investigators reported that every suspect who was arrested had arranged to meet and pay for sex with a teen at various public locations in Camden County, mainly in business parking lots.
In one case, police say a suspect traveled two hours from Savannah, Georgia, in a $90,000 truck, carrying $3,600 in cash. Investigators say the man offered to pay $200 per 15 minutes for sex with what he thought was a child.
Watch the bodycam footage below:
However, when he arrived at a Pizza Hut parking lot, officers were waiting for him. It was later discovered that he was a Mexican immigrant who came to the U.S. illegally.
Hackney said, “That’s either very brazen or very stupid on this person’s part to travel a couple of hours to do this, which is illegal. You’re in the country illegally, and you know the risk of being deported almost instantaneously. It’s a little surprising they would be so brazen.”
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In another case, one of the suspects was a man from San Antonio, Texas, accused of driving two illegal immigrants across the country.
One of the immigrants was a woman who told investigators she paid money to enter the US illegally, but when she arrived in San Antonio, her cell phone was taken from her.
She also said the driver was supposed to bring her to Florida where should be reunited with her husband; however, before they arrived in Florida, the driver demanded an additional $60 before dropping her off, which the woman said she did not have.
Investigators believe the driver and the other illegal immigrant were attempting to take the woman to Atlanta to force her to become a sex worker.
“This highlights how folks who put sex trafficking rings together will victimize anyone,” Hackney explained. “Here’s a poor woman who thinks she’s coming to Florida to be reunited with her husband and chase the American dream, [and] it turns into an American nightmare.”
If you or someone you know is a victim of sex trafficking, help is available. You can contact your local police or call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.