A three-day operation by Special Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and partner agencies to combat human trafficking in Nashville has resulted in the arrest of 41 individuals on prostitution-related charges; 34 men, six women and one juvenile.
Those arrested include a high school teacher from Hunter’s Lane High School, a former Vanderbilt football player, a truck driver, a student and a state IT Specialist.
The Nashville anti-trafficking operation, called “Operation Someone Like Me”, is the sixth of its kind in the state between the TBI and partner agencies to help identify, investigate and prosecute trafficking, and rescue victims.
Along with detectives with the Metro Nashville Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI, and the nonprofit End Slavery Tennessee, TBI Special Agents and intelligence analysts conducted the undercover operation to identify potential victims of trafficking and arrest those seeking to purchase illicit sex from a juvenile. During the three-day operation, undercover Agents posted ads on Backpage.com, and 485 men responded. More than 5,300 contacts were made to those ads, through texts or phone calls. In some ads, undercover Agents posed as a juvenile girl. Eighteen men responded, and paid to have sex with an underage female.
“We’re not going to arrest our way out of this problem,” says TBI Director Mark Gwyn. “This is all demand-driven. These men paying for sex with children in our state are only continuing to victimize girls and women. It’s wrong, it’s illegal, and we will pursue these operations in small towns and big cities for as long as it takes.”
As a result of “Operation Someone Like Me” this week in Nashville, 41 individuals were arrested/ cited, including 34 men, one juvenile and six women.
Those charged during the operation are:
*David Shepard, 56, Nashville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Terrance Debardelaben, 47, Nashville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Rahim Rahimi, 55, Nashville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Jeffrey Gocking, 46, Springfield, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Pradep Patel, 28, Lebanon, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Mohab Ahmed, 27, Nashville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Darian Williams, 20, Nashville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Daniel Waara, 24, Hendersonville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Willie Black, 54, Lynnville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Sow Salif, 33, Nashville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Walter Jones, 49, Nashville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Christopher Patterson, 48, Hermitage, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Jose Huelitl, 23, Nashville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Ronald Allen, Jr., 20, Hermitage, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Franklin Osourji, 43, Nashville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Arnold Quentin, 29, Brooklyn Center, MN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Scott Vonloewe, 46, La Vergne, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Angelo Sims, 37, Lebanon, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Kim Stephens, 21, Dickson, TN – Prostitution
*Peter Solyman, 28, Antioch, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Koreyon Watkins, 24, Antioch, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Tereso Rosales-Morente, 25, Madison, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Jenea Lancaster, 23, Memphis, TN – Prostitution
*Xaviera Gunn, 22, Battlecreek, MI – Prostitution
*Ruben Chavez-Moreira, 25, Nashville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Luis Mendieda, 43, Nashville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Gary Lewis, 63, Nashville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Thomas Griffin, 20, Nashville, TN – Simple Possession, Solicitation of a Minor
*Alfreda Avalos, 38, Hiram, GA – Patronizing Prostitution
*Dwjuana Bradford, 41, Nashville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Gary R. Canty, 20, Riverdale, GA – Patronizing Prostitution
*Austin Pickering, 23, Goodlettsville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Key Darius Rucker, 19, Murfreesboro, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Malik Naadirah, 21, La Vergne, TN – Prostitution
*Brittany Jones, 25, Memphis, TN – Prostitution
*Samuel Rodriguez, 48, Nashville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Jose Alvarado, 32, Madison, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Ashley Smith, 27, Memphis, TN – Prostitution
*Suleman Abdul, 33, Antioch, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
*Juvenile, Nashville, TN – Patronizing Prostitution
The Davidson County District Attorney’s office will review each case to determine whether additional charges are warranted.
