CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) – Pennsylvania State Police, the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, and multiple police departments had a joint human trafficking investigation which was designed to identify and arrest individuals engaging in the sex trade.
This is the fifth operation conducted of this type over the past year and according to the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, there will be future operations planned throughout the county.
Cumberland County District Attorney Seán M. McCormack said, “Since we began these operations targeting sex buyers who drive the demand for commercial sex, we have arrested 45 individuals. Every single dollar that a sex trafficker makes comes out of the wallet of a sex buyer. They are the ones driving sex trafficking by putting money into the hands of the sex traffickers who exploit the women and men trapped in this existence. We are going to continue these operations.”
According to the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, the investigators went undercover to meet men in a Shippensburg Township hotel.
The DA’s Office states that the men allegedly contacted the officers and arranged to meet at the hotel to engage in sex for financial compensation.
According to the DA’s Office, nine men were taken into custody and include:
- A 23-year-old from Chambersburg
- A 67-year-old from Carlisle
- A 56-year-old from Carlisle
- A 65-year-old from Carlisle
- A 36-year-old from Mechanicsburg
- A 57-year-old from Waynesboro
- A 44-year-old from Dauphin
- A 68-year-old from Myerstown
- A 42-year-old from Shippensburg
According to the DA’s Office, charges of prostitution and related offenses will be filed through the appropriate district court.
