Like so many other examples of spuriouscrimewarnings we’ve examined over the years, this one postulates an inefficient and implausible scheme for abductions perpetrated by kidnappers and human traffickers.
For starters, the would-be malefactor would need to case public parking lots, wait for a car driven by a single female to park, place cheese on the car hood after the driver was out of sight, wait around for the cheese to melt, furtively stake out the area and wait for the driver to return to her vehicle (without having any idea when that might happen), and then hope that the putative victim didn’t notice the cheese until
Twenty people were arrested during a two-day undercover operation that was conducted to help stop sex trafficking in the area, according to the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force.
Five of those arrested were charged with traveling to meet a minor for a sex act and electronic solicitation of a child.
In a news release on Monday, the task force identified those five suspects as:
Zachary Nathaniel Bradley, 20, of Tuscaloosa
Terence Xavier Colvin, 23, of Tuscaloosa
Francisco Marin-Cuevas, 35, of Tuscaloosa
Miguel Angel Garcia-Gonzalez, 29, of Bessemer
John Stephen Shoemaker, 64, of Tuscaloosa
Fifteen other suspects were charged with soliciting prostitution. Some face additional charges, such as possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia or carrying a pistol without a license. In total, 32 charges were brought against the 20 suspects who were arrested, police said.
20 arrested in undercover human trafficking investigation in West Alabama By WBRC Staff | March 1, 2021 at 11:11 AM CST - Updated March 1 at 12:23 PM
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) - Investigators with The West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force made 20 arrests during an undercover operation in Tuscaloosa on Friday and Saturday nights.
Investigators said the operation was designed to help stop the illegal purchase of sex in West Alabama.
Five people arrested were charged with both Traveling to Meet a Minor for an Unlawful Sex Act and Electronic Solicitation of a Child.
Fifteen other people were arrested for Soliciting Prostitution. Some face additional charges, including Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Carrying a Pistol without a License.
Northport Man Charged With Distribution of Child Pornography
A 29-year-old Northport man has been arrested and charged with the distribution of child pornography, police representatives said Tuesday afternoon.
Lt. Darren Beams, the commander of the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force, said agents from his unit, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the 24th Judicial Circuit District Attorney s Office executed a search warrant early Tuesday morning at a home on 18th Avenue in Northport.
Inside, officers found evidence enough to charged Jonathan Hinard Hill, 29, with the dissemination of obscene matter containing a visual depiction of a child younger than 17.
A search of a home on Northwind Drive yielded enough evidence to charge an 18-year-old Northport man with five counts of possession of child pornography.