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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — 148 people were arrested by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office human trafficking operation, Sheriff Chad Chronister announced in a news conference Tuesday.
The past 102 days, the sheriff’s office’s Human Trafficking Squad conducted Operation Summer Shield. The operation led to 148 arrests and the recovery of seven victims, according to HCSO.
Chronister said those arrested went to hotels with the intent of “purchasing sex from another human being.” Their employers included Uber, Amazon and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.
The sheriff highlighted four arrests, including John Randall Craddock, who was accused of traveling to meet a minor for sex, Devonte Kershaw, who was accused of conspiring to traffick a victim, Deonte Burton, who was accused of sex trafficking a minor, and Dennis Jose Aguilar-Maroto, who was accused of human trafficking.
A Hillsborough County Fire Rescue employee, Ronald Craig Favata, was arrested in June during the operation. He was working as a paramedic at the time and was charged with soliciting another to commit prostitution.
“Our mission is clear: to protect our community and hold traffickers accountable,” Chronister said. “We will not rest until every victim is safe and every trafficker is behind bars. Let me be clear: traffickers, your days of exploiting innocent people are over in Hillsborough County.”
The Human Trafficking Squad has arrested 793 people and recovered 42 victims since it was established in 2021, according to HCSO.
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