Florida’s Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) recently arrested hundreds during a human trafficking sting, but one stood out among the others.
HCSO arrested 34-year-old Paul Turovsky whom Sheriff Chad Chronister said got married on July 15, according to a report from 98.7 the Shark Thursday.
During his honeymoon, the man’s wife apparently fell asleep in their hotel bedroom. Meanwhile, Turovsky answered an ad issued by the HCSO and reportedly planned to meet an undercover detective to pay for sex.
However, when he arrived at the address in Tampa, officials took him into custody.
The law enforcement agency shared a photo Thursday of the suspect and said he was charged with soliciting another to commit prostitution:
One of HCSO’s human trafficking arrest. pic.twitter.com/wPLGGyhVXN
— HCSO (@HCSOSheriff) August 25, 2022
Since the formation of its Human Trafficking Squad in June of last year, 360 people have been arrested and eight victims rescued, the HCSO said in a press release on its Facebook page.
Starting in April, through various stings and operations focused on stopping the demand for prostitution, HCSO deputies arrested 176 men who went looking to commit illegal acts of prostitution — some of them with minors.
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Another group of men went looking to coerce minors into having sex with them. Ten of the “Johns” arrested had inappropriate conversations, often sharing pictures and videos, with undercover detectives who they thought were underage boys or girls. When the opportunity arose to meet, some did not take the bait, while others got in their cars and drove, hoping to meet with a minor. Instead, they found themselves, thankfully, face to face with our deputies, and were quickly arrested.
The Hilllsborough County Sheriff’s Office is crediting the newly formed Human Trafficking Squad for arresting hundreds…
Posted by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, August 25, 2022
During a press conference Thursday, Chronister detailed the operations and said the agency focused efforts on those who wanted to prey on children (2:30).
“So our undercover created a profile that he was a father wishing to traffick his 14-year-old daughter. We placed the ads on the web, even the dark web. It is concerning the response that we received,” he explained:
Chronister also said he was committed to combatting illegal prostitution and shielding citizens from predators.
“The Human Trafficking Squad has been given all the resources they need to save the victims, who often find themselves in a dark and dangerous life with no way out,” he added.
