75 Sex Buyers In Cook Co. Arrested In Prostitution Crackdown

CHICAGO — Arrests of 75 sex buyers in Cook County were made between the end of July and the end of August as part of an ongoing crackdown on prostitution across 12 states, according to the sheriff's office. Two dozen law enforcement agencies were involved in the 16th National Johns Suppression Initiative, a joint effort that led to more than 450 national arrests from July 25 to Aug. 26, the Cook County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Wednesday.

Of the 75 arrests, 10 people face charges connected with trying to have sex with a minor, and six were charged with counts related to sex trafficking. One man was charged with child endangerment because he had a 5-month-old baby in the backseat of his car while soliciting for sex, the sheriff's office said.

Arlington Heights police made two of the Cook County arrests, and police in Matteson, Maywood and Lansing also helped the sheriff's office with sting operations. Eleven minors also were recovered as part of the Cook County efforts, the sheriff's office said.

While most of the arrests were made through street-level reverse stings, authorities also employed online "bots" as a way to deter potential johns, according to the sheriff's office. Here's how that tactic worked:

• Artificial intelligence bots were created to text with possible sex buyers who responded to decoy online ads in nine jurisdictions, including the Chicago area.
• When a bot made contact with a potential john, a message would be sent to warn the person of the legal and social dangers of buying sex.
• The Cook County bots made contact with 241 people, and 1,576 potential sex buyers were sent warning messages nationally during the joint effort, the sheriff's office said.

Authorities also used the bots to see how April's closing of Backpage.com and tougher federal laws were affecting online sex trafficking in Chicago and other areas. On average, decoy ads on new, emerging escort sites attracted two potential sex buyer inquiries per ad in the Chicago area. Comparable Backpage.com decoy ads attracted an average of 19 inquiries per ad during a similar prostitution crackdown in January, according to authorities.

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