Multistate sex trafficking sting nets over 100 arrests in Chicago area

More than 100 people in the Chicago area have been arrested in connection with a national sex trafficking sting, authorities say.

In an effort to target and reduce sex trafficking, the National Johns Suppression Initiative conducted coordinated sting operations that led to 752 arrests of 723 accused sex buyers and 29 accused sex traffickers.

The sting included nearly 30 law enforcement agencies across 15 states, according to a news release from the Cook County Sheriff's Office. Both the arrest number and the participation level were the highest to date for Super Bowl operations since the initiative began 13 years ago.

In Illinois, the Cook County Sheriff's Office arrested 101 sex buyers and recovered three adult victims. The Lansing Police Department also arrested six buyers, and the Matteson Police Department apprehended 11.

Another five sex buyers were arrested by the Arlington Heights Police Department and two by the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Since 2011, Cook County officers and agencies from across the country have arrested more than 6,500 sex buyers and traffickers.

Buyers are more often white, middle-age or older men with at least a high school education, according to anonymous arrest data. Many are married and very few are unemployed, according to the data.