12 men charged in human traficking suppression operation
Twelve men from throughout the Chicago area and Wisconsin were charged with solicitation as part of a human trafficking suppression effort in Lake County, authorities said Wednesday.
The men were arrested during a two-day operation in the last week of November by the Lake County Sheriff's Office Special Investigations Group, targeting customers of prostitutes, known as "Johns," according to the sheriff's office.
Many individuals selling sex are not doing so willingly and a large number are being forced into involuntary servitude, according to Lake County sheriff's Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
A web-based operation utilized classified advertising websites, which regularly are used as a medium for solicitation, Covelli said.
One location in the northeastern part of Lake County was used in the operation. When "Johns" arrived and offered money to the undercover detectives for sexual acts, they were arrested and taken to the Lake County jail, Covelli said.
"It is a well-known fact that many are forced into this type of 'sex work' through physical force, fraud, and coercion. Many of them are victims of human trafficking," Sheriff John D. Idleburg said in a news release. "There is no doubt that if we reduce the demand for this type of activity, we reduce the need for the supply, making positive strides toward reducing human trafficking."
The following were charged with solicitation of a sexual act, a Class A misdemeanor and released with a Dec. 21 court date.
Israel G. Cisneros-Sanchez, 31, of the 1300 block of Abbington Lane, Round Lake; Douglas M. Dockery, 36, of the 4100 block of Harvard Street, Arlington Heights; Ryan A. Juga, 42, of the 7100 block of 36th Avenue, Kenosha, WI; Michael P. Marciano, 43, of the 33200 block of Valley View Drive, Round Lake; Aliaksandr Kors, 33, of the 23600 block of Raleigh Drive, Lincolnshire; and, Nicholas A. Huemann, 22, of the 100 block of West Northeast Shore Drive, McHenry.
Also, Steven D. Carr, 71, of the 1200 block of North Western Avenue, Lake Forest; Victor Andrala, 43, of the 1500 block of Eva Avenue, Park City; Theodore E. Pfaff, 39, of the 4500 block of Hemlock Street, Crystal Lake; Nicholas B. Steele, 44, of the 18100 block of Loretta Drive, Marengo; Christian Felix, 19, of the 1000 block of Grand Avenue, Waukegan; and Traian Big, 49, of the 3700 block of Harlem Avenue, Chicago.
The Special Investigations Group is a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area-funded task force, a program operating under the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Covelli said.
The nationwide effort over the last 10 years has led to the arrests of more than 15,000 "Johns" and sex traffickers, according to the sheriff's office.