COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Columbus man has been indicted on several charges as a result of an investigation conducted by the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, according to the Ohio Attorney General's office.
A Franklin County grand jury indicted 25-year-old Desmond Thomas on five felony counts, including trafficking in persons, rape, compelling prostitution, promoting prostitution and commercial sexual exploitation of a minor.
The task force received a tip in August 2021 about a juvenile posting advertisements on a website for prostitution, which led to Tuesday's arrest of Thomas, also known by his street name of "TommyGun Nino."
The indictment says Thomas, sometime around Dec. 15, 2021, recruited a minor and bought space to advertise sexual activity for hire that includes a depiction of the minor. It also says he facilitated the minor into prostitution.
About two weeks later, Thomas raped the minor, according to the indictment.
In October, the same tip led to the arrest of Columbus City Schools teacher Robert Pea.
