Dozens arrested in undercover sex stings in run-up to 2019 MLB All-Star Game in Cleveland

Cleveland.com | Cory Shaffer

More than two-dozen Northeast Ohio men are accused of soliciting sex online from undercover agents posing as teens as part of sting operations during the MLB All-Star Game festivities in Cleveland.

Twenty-eight men, whose ages range from 20 to 67, are each charged with felony attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, importuning and possession of criminal tools as part of the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force’s “Operation Triple Play.”…

Another 21 men were charged with misdemeanors as part of a separate prostitution sting conducted in Independence by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, officials said…

Yost said his office carried out a prostitution sting targeting “johns” to make a dent in the human trafficking market. Those who buy sex do not know if the person they are having sex with is being trafficked or is willingly selling his or her body, Yost said.

“Because you have no way of knowing that, you are taking a substantial risk, and may be complicit in human trafficking,” Yost said.

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