Largest human trafficking sting in Ohio history nets 161, including politician, firefighter Dean Narciso The Columbus Dispatch View Comments A firefighter, college professor and a Cleveland-area city councilman were among 161 people nabbed in a statewide sex sting operation last week, described as Ohio largest ever focused on human trafficking. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and law enforcement officials from Franklin, Montgomery, Portage and Summit counties, as well as social service providers and former human trafficking victims, met in the Ohio Statehouse on Monday to talk about the initiative. Dubbed Operation Ohio Knows, the weeklong sting was intended to create a deterrent for those who seek sex for pay or profit, Yost said. "We want to send a message to everybody in the country: Don't buy sex in Ohio," he said. How human trafficking is investigated: Central Ohio law enforcement arrest 93 as johns targeted in human trafficking stings at hotels Operation Ohio Knows Law enforcement fanned out across the state, communicating with hundreds of mostly men seeking sex. For every arrest made, officers made contact with up to eight "johns" whose actions didn't meet the elements of any crime, said Chief Deputy Rick Minerd, of the Franklin County sheriff's office. Three of the perpetrators were willing to pay to have sex with who they thought were minors. Ten minors previously reported missing were recovered. Fifty-one women, would-be victims, were provided assistance by social service advocates. It was unclear how many of the women also were charged. Most were charged with engaging in prostitution, a first-degree misdemeanor. A change in state law passed in the spring requires those convicted to undergo human trafficking education, "We cannot arrest our way out of human trafficking," said Yost, noting that arrests are nevertheless important as a deterrence. "If there are no buyers, there will be no trafficking." He wants people to know that it's not a victimless crime. Sex trafficking survivor: Survivor, officer who saved her team up to raise funds "Because we don't know, anybody in Ohio who purchases sex is assuming the risk that they're complicit in trafficking." Human trafficking survivor Mandie Knight spoke via Zoom about her former lifestyle and her gratitude at being arrested. “Had I not been arrested, had I not gone to jail, and had I not suffered some consequences for the decisions I was making, I wouldn’t be here today and I wouldn’t be as successful in life," said Knight, a wife, mother and student in forensic criminology. Minerd called those who seek out sex for money "deviants and predators." Human trafficking in Ohio:Report finds Southern Ohio charged second highest number of cases in 2020 Arrested Elyria councilman: 'an enormous mistake' Mark N. Jessie, an Elyria councilman running for re-election Nov. 2, was one of the men picked up by the sting. "I'm taking this very seriously and realize it's an enormous mistake," he told The Dispatch Monday. Jessie said he was seeking sex from someone he thought was selling it on the "Skip the games" website. When officers arrested him, he said, "There was an immediate feeling of wanting to throw up and an immediate feeling of facing the consequences with my family and friends." Summit County Sheriff Kandy Fatheree cautioned her colleagues not to rest on sting operations alone. "This is the beginning and not the end, and I think we have so much work to do across the state."....SADLY, HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS A HUGE PROBLEM IN OUR AREA. IT AFFECTS SO MANY YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN AND THEIR HORROR STORIES CREATES LIFE-LONG TRAUMA AND MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS FOR THEM. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF THE CRACKDOWN AND I JUST WANTED TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO THOSE WHO WORKED DILIGENTLY ON CATCHING THESE SICK PREDATORS AND START THE HEALING PROCESS FOR MANY UNFORTUNATE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN.