Human trafficking task force arrests 12 men in Ohio sex sting
Agents from a human trafficking task force arrested 12 men in northeast Ohio during an undercover sex sting, authorities announced on Friday.
The Ohio Attorney General's Office said the Northeast Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force conducted an operation on Thursday in the Warrensville Heights area near Cleveland, targeting men seeking to buy sex and working to identify potential victims of human trafficking.
In addition to the 12 arrests, the attorney general's office said seven potential victims of human trafficking were identified.
"Ohioans should be shocked at the prevalence and proximity with which human trafficking is occurring," Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said in a press release. "This scourge is happening within our midst every day. We will continue working with our partners to identify traffickers, hold offenders accountable and protect vulnerable Ohioans."
The attorney general's office identified those arrested as Taylor Black, 39, of New Franklin; Todd Hively, 47, of Canfield; Uhuru-Kenyatta Hunter, 56, of Canton; Gary Medvetz, 59, of Silver Lake; Viktor Moskaluk, 57, of Parma; Ritesh Patel, 51, of Mentor; Timothy Quinn, 48, of Tallmadge; Ross Stahl, 40, of Elyria; Forrest Theken, 24, of Coventry Township; Terrance Vanderbosch, 56, of Avon Lake; Mitchell Warholic, 63, of Cleveland; and Jeasung Yoo, 57, of Euclid.
The suspects were charged with engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools, the attorney general's office said.
The Northeast Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force is led by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department and organized under the attorney general's Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission.
