TBI Director Mark Gwyn speaks May 12, 2016, during a news conference.(Photo: Andrew Nelles / File / The Tennessean)
NASHVILLE — Over the course of three days this week, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation arrested 41 people, including 14 from Nashville,
connected with human trafficking, the TBI announced Friday.
"This week I learned that we are only scratching the surface," TBI Director Mark Gwyn said at a news conference. "This is our most significant operation to date."
More than half of the 34 men arrested specified that they wanted to have sex with minors, the TBI said. Six women and one juvenile also were arrested.
During the operation, undercover agents posted ads on Backpage.com. Some agents posed as underage girls. According to the TBI, 485 men responded to the ads posted and more than 5,300 responded to the ads through texts or phone.
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Assistant Special Agent in Charge Margie Quin said during the news conference that they were overwhelmed and disturbed by the amount of responses the false ads received. Quin said that on the first day of the operation Tuesday afternoon, agents received more than 216 responses in just seven hours.
“Even with as many of these operations that we have conducted across the state, it’s still shocking that half of the men responding to these ads wanted to pay to have sex with a minor,” Quin said. “We’re working toward helping victims of trafficking and taking these predators off the streets.”
Republican state House Speaker Beth Harwell said the arrests should serve as a message to those looking to promote human trafficking in Tennessee.
"I had the chance to see the operation from the inside on Wednesday," Harwell said. "While I was there I saw a man get arrested for wanting to have sex with an underage woman. To those scouring the web or apps in the search for sex with our state’s children, let me say this: Be warned.”
Follow Thomas Novelly on Twitter: @TomNovelly
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