Undercover Aurora officers arrested eight men during a six-week sting that targeted people soliciting underage children for sex, police said.
The men, who range in age from 19 to 40 years old, were each charged with arranging to have sex with minors at an Aurora hotel.
The undercover operation began in December when members of the Aurora Police Department Special Operations Group teamed up with the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations to crack down on human trafficking throughout the city.
“(Human trafficking) is one of the new things on the forefront of law enforcement,” Aurora Police Sgt. Alfredo Dean said. “We haven’t focused as much as we probably could have on investigations like this in the past.”
According to Aurora Police Department spokesman Dan Ferrelli, it’s because Aurora police haven’t had to in the past.
“(Trafficking) is just not something we’ve seen a lot of,” he said. “With the advances in technology, naturally these types of crime are going to be committed more.”
During the sting, Aurora police used an Internet site to target suspects who were seeking sex with juveniles.
Posing as adult pimps, undercover officers initiated meetings between the teens and the men who responded to the officers’ online advertisements.
“It’s a completely different playing field these days,” Dean said of the way these stings occur in the digital age. “The days of walking to the street corner and picking up a hooker are far less. Now you get on the phone and can peruse all sorts of sites where you can order up sexual services.”
Each of the eight arrested men has been charged with involuntary sexual servitude of a minor, traveling to meet a minor, and grooming, all Class X felonies.
“These alleged crimes shake our community to its very core,” Aurora Police Chief Greg Thomas said. “The human trafficking of children is deplorable and has absolutely no place in civilized society.”
Those arrested include Andres Alonso, 22, 900 block of Gates Street, Aurora; Josh Archer, 32, 1500 block of Simms Street, Aurora; Ruryk Michel, 38, 500 block of Hidden Creek Lane, North Aurora; Juan Morales, 26, of Chicago; Marek Gaciarz, 32, of Chicago; Eric Ziemba, 40, 700 block of Wimore Drive, Oswego; Nabeel Afsar, 21, of Hanover Park; and Shane Lewis, 35, of Pennsylvania.
“Words cannot describe the harm that these crimes inflict on their victims,” said Gary Hartwig, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Chicago. “(We will) continue to pursue those who seek to sexually exploit children and prevent them from committing further abuse.”