A sex sting operation in Florida led to 160 arrests of sex workers and those who solicit their services, including a top cop from Georgia, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday.
The week-long sting, called “Operation Fall Haul II,” was designed to find victims of sex trafficking, the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators discovered at least two sex trafficking victims during the operation, and there could potentially be more, according to Sheriff Grady Judd.
“Our goal is to start services the moment that they are taken into custody and to treat them as what they are, victims, not as suspects in a criminal event,” Judd said at a press conference.
Among those arrested in the operation were two Disney employees, a state corrections officer, several teachers and a deputy police chief from Georgia.
Cameron Burke was a high school IT expert from the city of Ocoee who was arrested for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student. He was released on bond and was busted during the sting for soliciting a prostitute.
Carlos Gonzales, an Osceola County math teacher, and John Layton, an Orange County physical education teacher, were also arrested in the operation.
Judd said Jason DiPrima, deputy police chief of the Cartersville Police Department in Georgia, is “no longer a police officer.”
The Cartersville Police Department said in a press release that DiPrima had resigned from his post on Thursday. The department had previously placed him on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
DiPrima was arrested for soliciting another for prostitution, lewdness or assignation.