COOK COUNTY, IL – Officers with the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Special Victims Unit arrested 24 men and towed 19 vehicles as part of an undercover operation targeting individuals seeking to buy sex, Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced today.
On Thursday, October 7, SVU officers set up a sting operation in an area of Leyden Township frequented by individuals seeking to purchase sex.
During the course of the operation, 24 men approached undercover members of the team and solicited sex in exchange for money. After they were arrested, each man was issued a $1,000 citation for violation of the Cook County public morals nuisance ordinance. One of the men was also arrested on an outstanding warrant for assault out of DuPage County. A total of 19 vehicles were towed under the ordinance, requiring the vehicle owner to pay $500 to reclaim possession.
Sheriff’s Police have arrested and fined more than 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.
-30-