Nearly 100 people arrested in sex-slave sting

A four-day prostitution sting in Florida has led to the arrests of nearly 100 people, among them a former Orlando police officer.The 98 arrests on charges ranging from offering to commit lewd acts to aiding and abetting prostitution, child abuse and drug possession, took place over the Memorial Day weekend in Polk County. According to investigators, former Orlando police officer Michael Johnson, 44, was netted in the sting.Johnson, who served on the force between 1994 and 1996, is accused of trying to recruit a female undercover officer as a prostitute.The former cop allegedly offered to act as the woman's pimp in exchange for 25 per cent of the profits. He then offered the would-be prostitute a better deal if she agreed to have sex with him, according to sheriff's officials.The list of suspects caught in the operation targeting human trafficking included 28 alleged prostitutes, among them a 15-year-old girl; 52 suspected clients, and 16 pimps.Of the 98 suspects, 24 were married; 15 are on public assistance; and 64 have been arrested over 448 times before.‘Human trafficking is a serious problem in the Central Florida area. We have found that one of our best tools to find, arrest, and prosecute traffickers is to conduct undercover prostitution investigations,’ Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. ‘Prostitution is not a victimless crime.’The sting operation, aptly dubbed 'When Will You Learn,' stemmed from a 2013 arrest of suspected pimp Montavious Rakeem Postell accused of forcing a 15-year-old runaway to commit lewd acts for his own financial gain. When deputies interviewed the girl, she revealed to them that Postell had given her drugs, beat and sexually abused her. Investigators said in all, they have identified three potential cases of human trafficking.'They don’t have a choice, they’re given drugs, they’re watched, they’re held against their will, they’re psychologically abused,' the sheriff said. Deanna Elimon, 20, was charged with child abuse by neglect for allegedly leaving a 5-year-old and a 1-year-old sleeping in an unlocked car while she went to have sex with a 'john,' John Alexander, who listed his trade on his Facebook page as ‘staying out of jail.’ Frank Portlock, 56, a co-owner of the Chevrolet Center in Winter Haven, was charged with trying to solicit an undercover female detective for sex in exchange for $100. Jalil Hayes, 25, a National Guardsman stationed in Georgia, was completing a job application when he allegedly offered to pay an undercover officer $40 to have sex with him.Justin Link, 33, of Davenport, showed up for a rendezvous with a female detective, whom he wanted to recruit for sex with his friends, armed with cocaine, duct tape, two dog collars, high-heel shoes, a vibrator and lingerie, according to the Polk County sheriff’s office.Sheriff Grady Judd said some of the women arrested told officers they want to stop working as prostitutes, but they are afraid their pimps will kill them, the station WFTV reported. Judd said that an escort told investigators, ‘I had one of them tell me, “If you don’t come work for me, I’m going to throw acid in your face and burn you up.”’ (dailymail.co.uk)Bakudaily.az