COOK COUNTY, IL – Officers from the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Special Victims Unit issued citations to 27 men and towed 22 vehicles as part of an undercover operation in unincorporated Leyden Township targeting individuals seeking to purchase sex, Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced today.
On Thursday, September 2, SVU officers set up a sting operation along portions of Mannheim Road known to be visited by individuals wanting to buy sex.
During the operation, the men approached undercover officers and solicited sex in exchange for money. Each man was issued a $1,000 citation for violation of the Cook County public morals nuisance ordinance, and 22 vehicles were towed under the ordinance, requiring the vehicle owner to pay $500 to reclaim possession.
Sheriff’s Police have fined nearly 200 individuals this year as part of their ongoing strategy to reduce the demand for sex trafficking by aggressively pursuing those who seek to purchase sex, and the Office continues to offer services and support to trafficked individuals.