COLUMBUS, Ohio — A 16-year-old girl and 19-year-old woman from Toledo were rescued by police at a Columbus area hotel Friday during a statewide human-trafficking sting operation.
During the operation last week, a human trafficking task force made up of Columbus police officers searched through illicit online advertisements for escorts in an attempt to locate potential victims.
Agents identified one ad that they believed contained pictures of an underage girl.
After further investigation, the Columbus Division of Police said the task force members were able to identify and rescue a 16-year-old girl who was being exploited.
Police said the girl and the 19-year-old woman were taken to a Columbus area hotel from Toledo by three men to engage in paid sexual services.
Lakei Darrington, Mic’Khi Cambell and Amarrieon Jackson, all from Toledo, were arrested by the task force agents and charged with trafficking in persons, a felony of the first degree.
"Operation Time's Up," a multi-agency human-trafficking operation, was spearheaded by Attorney General Dave Yost’s Ohio Organized Investigation Commission that aims to arrest buyers of sex.
Across the state, 98 law enforcement agencies participated and made a total of 56 arrests: 35 people seeking to purchase sex and 21 others who were looking to buy sex from minors were arrested.