Durham County deputies make record number of arrests in hotel prostitution sting
Durham County sheriff’s deputies charged a record 18 people with soliciting prostitution Thursday, targeting the customers in a new fight against human trafficking.
Deputies used the internet to arrange meetings with men at a Durham County hotel and then arrested them there, spokeswoman AnnMarie Breen said Friday. It was a record number of arrests for this crime in a single day, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
The Sheriff’s Office did not identify the hotel because prostitution is not an ongoing problem there and was rather a meeting place that deputies chose.
The move was an attempt to target customers rather than sex workers, deputies said.
“Sex trade workers are often victims of human trafficking,” Breen said in the news release. “In an effort to deter traffickers, DCSO and the (State Bureau of Investigation) targeted the demand side of this crime. In doing this we hope to lower the chances of women being exploited.”
Human Trafficking hotline calls
In 2017, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received 854 calls reporting suspected human trafficking in North Carolina, The News & Observer previously reported.
In November, a Durham County jury convicted Corey Oliver Smith of attempted trafficking of a 16-year-old girl, who had called 911 from a bathroom at McDonalds. He was sentenced to between 21 and 31 years in prison, a rarity in North Carolina.
Charged in Thursday’s operation were: Brandon Eugene Williams, 21, of Wake Forest; Tyrese Roger Pledger, 43, of Columbia, N.C.; David John Griffin, 55, of Broadway; Ronnie Eugene Knight, 58, of Sanford; Raul Sanchez-Viniegra, 33, of Durham; Moses Romero Luna, 42, of Durham; Thomaskutty Mathal, 62, of Cary; Suresh Reddy Male, 49, of Cary; Russell William Cramer, 60, of Holly Springs; Troy Wilburn Smith, 51, of Cary; Dean Anthony Wayne, 50, of Fuquay-Varina; John James Streicher, 64, of Durham; Raul Aguilar Fernandez, 33, of Raleigh; Sergio Lagunes Cruz, 30, of Durham; Jose Manual Garcia, 40, of Durham; Elias Jose Rivera, 21, of Durham; Angel Solis Hernandez, 32, of Cary; and Trevor James Harris, 28 , of Richlands, N.C.
Investigators also seized items including an Xbox 360, 8.5 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and cash ranging from $35 to $211 to be used as payment.
This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 11:54 AM.