Sex Buyers Arrested By AHeights PD In National Crackdown: Sheriff

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Five sex buyers were arrested by Arlington Heights police as part of a nationwide crackdown on sex trafficking by a coalition of law enforcement agencies, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office. The coordinated sting operations, which were conducted between Jan. 7 and Feb. 4, led to more than 630 arrests in 16 states by more than 30 police departments, sheriff's offices and other crime-fighting agencies as part of the National Johns Supression Initiative, the Sheriff Tom Dart's office said in a statement Tuesday.

The initiative introduced a new technological tool in its nearly monthlong crackdown thanks to a partnership between the sheriff's office and Seattle Against Slavery, a Pacific Northwest-based group trying to stop labor and sex trafficking. An AI bot known as Project Intercept was used in six communities, posting online ads with phone numbers connecting to bots posing as trafficking victims with names such as Ariel, Brook and Cari, according to the sheriff's office.

Once connected, the bots would interact with potential sex buyers through text messages, eventually setting a price for services, the sheriff's office said. When a price was reached, the bots would send a "deterrence message" that told the individuals that soliciting sex is a crime. The potential buyers then would be directed to websites with more information about the hazards and harms of soliciting sex, according to Dart's office.

"This incredible technology helps to further the work done by law enforcement to bring attention to the exploitive nature of the sex trafficking industry and reduce the demand for purchased sex that serves to perpetuate a cycle of violence, mental illness and drug addiction for victims," Dart said in a statement.

Project Intercept also was used in Boston, Phoenix, King County in Seattle and Los Angeles County in California. The bot was deployed for 24 hours in Minneapolis during the Sunday's Super Bowl, receiving the most interaction among the areas using the system that day, the sheriff's office stated. Overall, 9,114 potential sex buyers intereacted with the bots, and a deterrence message reached 60 percent of those individuals, according to the sheriff's office.

In Illinois, 74 sex buyers were arrested as part of the intiative. That includes the five arrests by Arlington Heights police, as well as 57 arrests by Cook County sheriff's police and 7 arrests by the Lake County Gang Task Force.

Nationally, the NJSI sting operations netted the following results (totals could change as additional law enforcement agencies report in):

• at least 638 sex buyers arrested
• 18 sex trafficking arrests
• 12 adult victims recovered
• three juveniles recovered
• $755,490 in minimum possible fines

Since 2011, more than 8,200 sex buyers have been arrested nationally in NJSI sting operations.

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