Latest news with #HumanTraffickingTaskForce
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Birdsboro man sentenced to state prison for attempting to pay to sexually assault 12-year-old
A Lancaster County judge has sentenced a former constable from Birdsboro to 28 to 57 years in state prison for trying to pay to sexually assault a 12-year-old girl. Bradley Buchanan, 40, of the 400 block of East Third Street was arrested in August 2022 as part of an undercover operation by the Lancaster County District Attorney's Human Trafficking Task Force. He was convicted by a jury in October of attempted statutory sexual assault, soliciting sex, unlawful contact with a minor, attempting to patronize a victim of human trafficking, soliciting sex from a victim of human trafficking, attempted indecent assault of someone less than 16 and soliciting sex from a person less than 16. Buchanan was sentenced by Judge Thomas Sponaugle on May 27. According to information provided by the Lancaster County district attorney's office: Bradley responded to an Aug. 24, 2022, online advertisement posted by law enforcement offering sex with a minor, communicating with whom he thought was a family member of a 12-year-old girl but was actually a member of law enforcement. Bradley agreed to pay $250 to have sexual intercourse with the girl and requested a nude photograph of her. Police linked the phone number used in the communication to Bradley. Bradley traveled to a hotel in Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, where he met with an undercover officer and was subsequently arrested. 'This was an online child predator sting that caught just that,' Assistant District Attorney Fritz Haverstick said during his closing argument, according to a release from the district attorney's office. 'Bradley Buchanan was online looking to prey on a child in this community. He was online looking to purchase the body of a 12-year-old from that child's aunt, so he could sexually abuse that child for $250. '(He) thought he found just that. Fortunately, he found a dedicated team of law enforcement officers who are trying to keep this community safe from child predators.' Bradley's conviction was a second strike after he pleaded guilty in Berks County Court in 2012 to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl. According to detectives who investigated that case: Between Jan. 1 and Feb. 5, 2012, Buchanan knowingly and intentionally sent inappropriate sexual messages to a 15-year-old female via Facebook. The messages were initially discovered by the victim's mother. During the course of the investigation, detectives learned Buchanan had 'friended' the victim online and that the pair corresponded on a daily basis. On one occasion, detectives said Buchanan convinced the victim to go for a walk and picked her up in his vehicle a short distance from her home. He drove her to the Lake Drive Recreational Park in Douglassville, where he parked the vehicle and had sexual intercourse with her. Bradley was sentenced to six to 23 months in county jail and five years of probation for that crime.
CBS News
3 days ago
- General
- CBS News
San Jose brothels raided, 2 arrested, as part of nationwide human trafficking crackdown
Two brothels in San Jose were raided last week and two suspects were arrested as part of a nationwide crackdown on illicit massage businesses, authorities said Wednesday. The San Jose Police Department said in a press release that the department collaborated with the National Human Trafficking Training Center during what was called Operation Coast to Coast, targeting more than two dozen massage businesses in 19 states. In San Jose, the Police Department's Human Trafficking Task Force investigated two businesses: one on W. Julian Street between N. Almaden Boulevard and the Guadalupe River, the other on Sheri Ann Circle in the McKay-Ringwood neighborhood of North San Jose. On May 29, task force detectives served warrants at the two businesses and arrested two suspects who were operating the brothels, police said. They were identified as 39-year-old Yanqiong Xiong of Cupertino and 45-year-old Guijun Zhao of Rosemead, Los Angeles County. (L-R) Yanqiong Xiong, Guijun Zhao San Jose Police Department Police also located three women who were survivors of human trafficking and who were provided resources, the department said. Operation Coast to Coast involved more than 150 law enforcement agencies across the U.S., resulting in 74 arrests and 88 survivors rescued, police said. The department encouraged people with information about human trafficking to contact the Human Trafficking Task Force at (408) 537-1999 or email stopslavery@
CBS News
20-05-2025
- CBS News
2 suspects arrested at San Jose hotel for alleged sex trafficking of teenage girls
Two men were arrested last month for allegedly assaulting and attempting to sex traffic two teenage girls from a San Jose hotel, police said Monday. In a press statement, the San Jose Police Department said officers responded to a report of a battery that occurred at a hotel on Monterey Road between Senter Road and Skyway Drive in South San Jose. Two men had driven two sixteen-year-old female survivors to the location and one of the suspects told one of the survivors she was going to work for him and make him money, according to police. When the survivor tried to leave, the suspect punched her, leaving her with minor injuries but she refused medical treatment at the scene, police said. The department's Human Trafficking Task Force responded and officers identified the suspects as Peter Supnet and Edwin Dickerson III. Detectives gathered evidence suggesting Supnet and Dickerson III were attempting to sexually traffic the two teenagers, police said. Both victims were provided with resources at the location and the suspects were taken into custody. They were later booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for crimes related to human trafficking of minors. Anyone with information about the case was asked to contact the department's Human Trafficking Task Force at 4860@ or by phone at (408) 537-1224.
CBS News
11-05-2025
- CBS News
Pontiac man accused of trafficking woman for at least a year, sheriff says
A Pontiac, Michigan, man is facing seven charges in connection with a woman who was trafficked for at least a year, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office. Trevor Andrew Scarbrough is charged with one count each of accepting earnings from prostitution, using a computer to commit a crime, human trafficking enterprise resulting in commercial sexual activity, sodomy, delivery/manufacturing of a controlled substance, felony firearm and keeping a house of prostitution, officials said. Detectives with the sheriff's office and the Oakland County Human Trafficking Task Force executed a search warrant at Scarbrough's home in Pontiac on Thursday night and arrested him after receiving a tip. Law enforcement learned during their investigation that he had been trafficking the woman for at least a year, the sheriff's office says. Detectives believe there may be other victims in the case. Anyone who thinks they may have been a victim is asked to call the sheriff's office at 248-858-4950 or local law enforcement. "This twisted suspect forced his victim into a sexual act with an animal in addition to trafficking her," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a written release on Saturday. "I am thankful for the tip on this case and know this, if you are a similarly minded predator, we are coming for you." Scarbrough's bond was set at $1 million and he must wear a GPS tether if he posts it, according to the sheriff's office. A probable cause conference is scheduled for May 20 at Michigan's 50th District Court in Pontiac.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
Mississippi operation leads to recovery of 5 human trafficking victims
SOUTHAVEN, Miss. (WJTV) – Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R-Miss.) announced the completion of Operation 806, an operation conducted in Southaven led by her Human Trafficking Task Force. She said the operation resulted in one arrest and the recovery of five human trafficking victims. 'My office is committed to taking criminals who traffic people off the streets and equally committed to setting victims on the road to recovery,' said Fitch. 'We are grateful to our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners who worked with us on Operation 806 and who are a part of our task force network.' Teen faces murder charge in McComb park shooting During Operation 806, which was conducted on May 1, 2025, Fitch said investigators and prosecutors worked with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to serve two search warrants, make the arrest, and recover the victims. The following agencies participated: Desoto County Sheriff's Office Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Hernando Police Department Mississippi Department of Revenue – Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, & Parks (MDWFP) Southaven Police Department In addition to law enforcement partners, the Center for Violence Prevention provided services and treatment to the victims that were recovered during this operation. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
