5 members of Ohio "criminal enterprise" indicted on human trafficking charges, AG says

Five members of a "criminal enterprise" that trafficked women for sex in Ohio have been indicted on felony charges, Attorney General Dave Yost announced on Thursday. 

The investigation began when a survivor was found during "Operation Next Door," a statewide human trafficking sweep in September of 2025, the attorney general's office said. 

Authorities said the survivor, who has developmental disabilities, traveled to the sting location with the suspected trafficker. The Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force then seized evidence and opened an investigation, the attorney general's office said.

During the investigation, authorities learned that the organization was led by 36-year-old Derrick Soto and operated in north Columbus. The attorney general's office said Soto used false promises and drugs to coerce women into prostitution.

Soto's co-defendants — 23-year-old Jacob Williston, 42-year-old Johnnie Barringer, 29-year-old Nikki Brletic, and 27-year-old Jayla James — advertised sex encounters online and then drove women to meet buyers, Yost's office said. 

The five are facing charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, promoting prostitution and money laundering. 

The indictments come after another big statewide human trafficking operation in Ohio. Yost's office said 122 people who tried to buy sex were arrested during "Operation Spring Cleaning" earlier this month. 

Yost said 38 people were arrested on felony charges like promoting prostitution and trafficking in persons. Eighty-four "johns" were charged with engaging in prostitution and solicitation, the attorney general said. And 42 human trafficking survivors were referred to healthcare and social services organizations. More than a dozen search warrants were also executed at massage parlors, the attorney general's office said.