Prostitution sting nets 7 arrests, but real focus is on human trafficking

When Newark Police and federal agents carried out a sting at a South College Avenue motel earlier this month, they arrested seven men who allegedly thought they were meeting a prostitute.

However, the officers conducting the operation at the Rodeway Inn had their sights on a bigger target: human traffickers.

Such joint local and federal operations are a common tactic of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations division as it seeks to crack down on human trafficking. Though the agency is better known for its immigration enforcement, ICEs HSI division is also responsible for investigating child pornography, sex trafficking and other similar offenses.

Human sex trafficking is defined as prostitution induced by force, fraud or coercion. The victims sometimes children often make arrangements to be brought to the United States only to find themselves forced into prostitution. Other times, it involves young Americans from troubled backgrounds.

Its akin to modern-day slavery, said William Walker, assistant special agent in charge of HSI in Philadelphia.

The Dec. 18 sting in Newark was in response to recent complaints about prostitution at the Rodeway Inn, said Lt. Mark A. Farrall, a spokesman for the Newark Police Department.

After posting ads online, undercover officers used phone calls and text messages to communicate with 22 men, seven of whom showed up at the motel and were charged with patronizing a prostitute. Those charged include John Jarrell, 57; Bernard Racey, 44; Robert Fletcher, 22; Suprapto Bonari, 48; Jonathan Caine, 28; Aaron M. Johnson, 38; and James L. Poston, 45. Police withheld the defendants hometowns for unspecified reasons.

An HSI agent accompanied Newark Police during the sting and helped conduct interviews of the suspects, looking for red flag indicators of human trafficking. Similar operations have occurred in cities across the country, Walker said.

The basic idea, authorities said, is to lean on the accused to open up about any past involvement with prostitutes in an effort to get information that could lead to human trafficking rings.

We interview them and see if they can turn us on to any human trafficking victims theyve encountered in the past, Walker said.

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Prostitution sting nets 7 arrests, but real focus is on human trafficking