“Ohio ranks 14th in the United States in 2019 for the number of active criminal human trafficking cases making their way through federal courts. The state had 12 active cases. Federal prosecutors charged four new criminal cases, ranking Ohio 9th in the United States for the number of new criminal human trafficking cases.”
– The Human Trafficking Institute, “Ohio State Summary”
In recent years, Ohio has ranked as high as fourth in the nation when it comes to the number of trafficked people. Between 2014 and 2016, more than 1,000 victims were identified in the Buckeye State by a University of Cincinnati study, though Attorney General Dave Yost said the actual number of trafficking victims is “probably underreported by an order of magnitude.”
Ohio is a hotbed of human trafficking because of its significant transient and immigrant population, a steady demand for sex workers and farm labor, and because it’s connected to other large states and Canada by several major Interstate highways.
Yost said. “The truth of what’s going on is there’s almost always a guy with a baseball bat or a fix of heroin or a knife out in the parking lot or in the next room.”
He continued: “And you’ve got no way to tell, when she says ‘yes,’ whether she means yes or she’s meaning yes because that guy’s going to cut me if I don’t say yes.”
In January, Yost held the inaugural Human Trafficking Summit at the Greater Columbus Convention Center – a summit so that all these groups battling human trafficking independently can communicate and collaborate on better solutions to the problem.
Hundreds attended the event. Before they headed to a day of educational workshops, attendees were told by Yost that he hoped the summit would help identify “gaps” in the work being done to stop human trafficking.”
(Jeremy Pelzer. “Ohio AG Dave Yost launches human trafficking summit to build ‘freeway to freedom’ for victims.” Cleveland.com. January 09, 2020.)
Now, in October 2020, Yost
joined federal, state and local law enforcement partners to announce
the success of a statewide anti-human trafficking
operation.
Operation
Autumn Hope, coordinated through AG Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime
Investigations Commission, encompassed more than 50 law enforcement
agencies and non-government partners to break the cycle that fuels
sex trafficking across the state.
The broad-based effort, carried out in various parts of the state simultaneously, identified four priorities:
Rescuing victims of human trafficking and referring them to social services
Recovering missing and exploited children
Apprehending those seeking to have sex with a minor
Arresting male johns seeking to buy sex
“The success of
Operation Autumn Hope is measured not only in the number of arrests
but in the lives that were rescued from this evil,” Yost said.
“Every agency on this team looks for the day when no person is
bought and sold in Ohio. Don’t buy sex in Ohio!”
During
the operation, the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Trask Force,
Columbus PACT Unit and the Cuyahoga County Human Trafficking Task
Force rescued 109 human trafficking victims and referred them to
social services.
Across southern Ohio, 76 missing and exploited children cases were cleared, including 45 by physical recovery by the U.S. Marshal’s Service. Among those missing included a 15-year-old girl missing from Cleveland whose recovery linked her and other possible victims to an individual in Columbus suspected of human trafficking; a 15-year-old male with two warrants who is a suspect in multiple shootings and a homicide; and a 14-year-old girl who was reported missing by the Lancaster Police Department who was recovered in Columbus within six hours of being reported missing.
“My thanks to all personnel who have stepped up for this operation,” said Peter C. Tobin, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio. “These are the same personnel who hunt down violent fugitives every day. I’m incredibly proud of them and pleased that they were able to apply those same skills to finding missing children. I know Operation Autumn Hope has made a difference in a lot of young lives.”
“These predators shamelessly target the most innocent and defenseless members of our community,” said Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin. “Operation Autumn Hope is sending a loud and clear message: We are watching, we will catch you, and we will protect our children.”
(“Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost Announces Success of Statewide Anti-Human Trafficking Operation - Operation Autumn Hope Provides Hope to Victims of Sex Trafficking.” News Release, Ohio Attorney General. October 26, 2020.)
Scioto County Trafficking
Three Women
In March 2020, The Scioto County Sheriff's Office arrested three women who are accused of sexually molesting several children between the ages of 3 to 13-years-old. Investigators obtained evidence that multiple children had been taken to a house in the Wheelersburg area, where they were traded for drugs and money, according to the press release.
Captain John W. Murphy said videos and photos were taken of children who were sexually assaulted by several people.
Arrested was Magan R Richmond, age 32, Lindeman Rd. Portsmouth Ohio; Tasha Stringer, age 37, of 220 Germany Hollow Road Wheelersburg Ohio; and Kathryn McMullen, age 36, of 422 Brushy Fork Road South Webster Ohio. All three women have been charged with 1 count of rape a felony of the 1st degree and are currently being held in the Scioto County jail on a $100,000 bond and will appear in Portsmouth Municipal Court on Monday, March 23.
(Falycia Campbell. “Three women in Scioto County accused of molesting several children.” ABC 6, Columbus. March 22 2020.)
All three women were
indicted in August on eight counts, outlined as follows:
•
McMullen: four counts of rape, all first-degree felonies; engaging in
a pattern of corrupt activity, a first-degree felony; two counts of
obstructing justice, both second-degree felonies; and compelling
prostitution, a second-degree felony.
• Stringer: four
counts of rape, all first-degree felonies; engaging in a pattern of
corrupt activity, a first-degree felony; two counts of obstructing
justice, both second-degree felonies; and compelling prostitution, a
second-degree felony.
• Richmond: two counts of rape, both
first-degree felonies; engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a
first-degree felony; two counts of obstructing justice, both
second-degree felonies; compelling prostitution, a second-degree
felony; and two counts of gross sexual imposition, both third-degree
felonies.
Larry Dean Porter
In June, 2020, nine people from Scioto County, including some family members, were indicted on federal charges connected to a child sex trafficking operation.
Investigators say Larry Dean Porter, 69, of Wheelersburg, Ohio, allegedly exchanged drugs he got in Columbus and elsewhere “for sexual access to the children of drug-addicted mothers.” They say the investigation into Porter and the alleged activity began in April 2019.
Porter was arrested the previous March on local charges during a human trafficking sting conducted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office that involved a victim as young as 7 years old.
Investigators said Porter would sexually abuse children and documented the abuse on flash drives. According to information from the U.S. Attorney, “He would give illegal narcotics to drug-addicted parents in exchange for sexual access to the minor victims. It is alleged he often instructed the parents to sexually abuse their own children and recorded it to use as blackmail.”
Porter also allegedly tried to get family members and associates to lie under oath and convince witnesses to lie to law enforcement.
Porter was charged in a 13-count indictment with conspiring to sex traffic children (15 years up to life in prison), attempting to sex traffic children (15 years up to life), producing child pornography (15 to 30 years), possessing child pornography (up to 10 years), conspiring to obstruct a child sex trafficking investigation (up to 25 years) and conspiring to witness tamper (up to 20 years).
The following also were named in the indictments:
Denna Sue Porter, 32, of Wheelersburg, and Crystal D. Porter, 39, of Columbus. Investigators say both women were seen digging holes in the ground of property to conceal evidence, including a memory card containing images of child pornography allegedly taken in Larry Porter’s bedroom.
Joshua David Aldridge, 36, of South Webster, Ohio, was charged with conspiring to sex traffic children and sex trafficking children. He alleged Aldrige transported minor victims to Porter’s home and received drugs in return.
Charity Ann Rawlins, 41, of South Webster, Ohio, and Ronnie L. Rawlins, 47, of Oak Hill, Ohio, are also charged with conspiring to sex traffic children and sex trafficking children. Court documents say the couple allegedly took a seven-year-old child to Porter’s home to traffic the child sexually in exchange for pills on a regular basis. This alleged abuse occurred a few times per week for up to five years.
(“9 in Scioto County indicted on federal charges connected to child sex trafficking.” News Channel 3. Huntington. June 24, 2020.)
Portsmouth's Dark Secret
A team of investigate journalists and photographers from The Cincinnati Enquirer, guided by investigative editors from USA Today, spoke with over 100 people regarding Portsmouth’s “open secret.” Alongside arrest records, court documents, and threats of legal action from the Enquirer’s counsel – against Scioto County to access public information and hearings – the team revealed the framework of a sex trafficking scheme that spanned the Midwest.
The article released by both news publications in late March focuses on the alleged ringleader, Michael Mearan, 73, a criminal defense attorney who lives and works across the street from the Scioto County Courthouse. It links the lawyer to 27 women over twenty years who claim to have acted as prostitutes under Mearan’s direction. They reported being given drugs and money to feed their addiction for each sexual encounter set up by Mearan.
“The conditions are ripe for human trafficking. You have drug addiction rampant. You have unemployment. You have poverty. You have a built-in group of folks who are desperate, maybe hopeless, that could be preyed upon.”
-- Shane Tieman, Scioto County Prosecutor
In three years, the Portsmouth City Health Department reported 120 drug-related overdoses; the county’s overdose death rate is twice that of the state.
Michael Mearan
On October 23, 2020, Ohio
Attorney General Dave Yost and Scioto County Prosecutor Shane Tieman
announced the indictment of Portsmouth attorney Michael Mearan on 18
felony counts related to human trafficking spanning 15
years.
Mearan, 74, faces more than 70 years in prison if
convicted.
The charges stem from criminal activity in southern
Ohio that occurred from 2003 to 2018 and involved six victims. They
include:
One count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1)
Three counts of trafficking in persons (F1)
Five counts of compelling prostitution (F3)
Nine counts of promoting prostitution (F4)
Dozens of women reported that Mearan, a former city councilman, lured them into a world of prostitution as a way to support their drug habits, and that he would send them to several locations across the country.
Yost said …
‘We started notifying them one by one today of the indictment. There were a lot of tears. I have done plenty of sex cases and testifying in front of a room full of strangers in public is just an incredibly difficult thing to do. But every one of these survivors recognized that coming forward that’s a piece of it and I’m convinced that as hard as it’s going to be, they’ve got the courage to step forward and tell their stories.”
The case was investigated
by a human trafficking task force as part of AG Yost’s Organized
Crime Investigations Commission. The task force consisted of
representatives from the Portsmouth Police Department, Department of
Public Safety’s Intelligence Unit and Ohio Investigative Unit, and
the Attorney General’s Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
The
case is being prosecuted as part of AG Yost’s Human Trafficking
Initiative and Special Prosecutions Section.
An affidavit – filed back in August 2015 by a senior special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration – casts Mearan as a central figure in a drug and sex trafficking ring operating throughout the Midwest.
The agent linked to Mearan 27 women who worked for him as prostitutes, including one who has been missing since 2013 and another found dead of “multiple traumas” the same year.
The agent added that Mearan has been “known to law enforcement” in Portsmouth since the 1970s and has been indirectly tied to multiple prior FBI investigations into human trafficking, extortion, violent gangs and “White Slave Trafficking.”
Besides Mearan, the women who spoke with The Cincinnati Enquirer collectively named several well-known individuals from the Portsmouth area who they alleged had paid to have sex with them. The list includes former police officers, lawyers, a medical professional, a former high school football star, businessmen and probation officers.
(James Pilcher, Liz Dufour, Kate Murphy. “Trapped and trafficked: One town's dark secret." The Cincinnati Enquirer. Updated October 23, 2020.)
Ten women previously told The Enquirer they had worked as prostitutes for Mearan, with several of the women saying they had traveled to numerous states to have sex at his behest over the last two decades. Records show that Mearan had represented six of the women facing drug charges. The women also told The Enquirer that Mearan’s operation included some of the most powerful men in Scioto County as customers and participants.
One said she had slept with a former police chief for money.
Four women said that a now-retired Scioto County Common Pleas Court Judge, William T. Marshall, was associated Mearan.
(A report investigated claims in a Drug Enforcement Agency affidavit that Mearan has for years pressured women into prostitution by telling them he could get lenient sentences from friendly judges. The affidavit also refers to a Portsmouth judge “in collusion” with Mearan, alleging that Mearan provided the judge women, according to information “obtained through numerous interviews, including interviews with former prostitutes.”)
“Are you serious? I would never do anything like that,” Marshall told The Enquirer.
(Keith Griffith. “More than 2,700 cases to be reviewed after former judge in Ohio 'turned up to work drunk and was possibly involved in prostitution ring.'” Daily Mail. UK. June 27, 2020.)
As far as his association with Marshall, Mearan said: “The judge had an alcohol abuse problem. I took him to Columbus. That’s what a person who cares about someone does. Forget about his job. I saved his life.”
Marshall retired suddenly in 2018 after a 16-year career as a common pleas court judge as well as running the Scioto County Drug Court through his courtroom. He left the bench just before being suspended from practicing law for six months by the state’s legal watchdog agency on an unrelated case – an ethics probe by the state’s Board of Professional Conduct into a traffic ticket that he tried to fix for his teenage daughter in 2017.
The complaint states Marshall began to put pressure on state police in his courtroom. When attorneys worked out a plea agreement in a case set for a suppression hearing, Marshall stated he wouldn’t accept it and forced them to go forward with the hearing, on the basis that it was investigated by Ohio Highway Patrol.
Ex-judge Marshall said, “Everyone who meets Mearan likes him. He is always supporting anything in downtown Portsmouth and he devoted a lot of times on drug court cases, including some he was not paid for and ones no other attorneys wanted.”
Marshall said he wants to prove the rumors and allegations are lies. “Everybody in my town thinks I am some kind of sexaholic. I think the only connection they can make between Mike and me is drug court. Mike wanted to give his time. I am not the kind of guy who is going to pay out a criminal defendant."
Marshall continued …
“He (Mearan) hangs around with young girls. I’ve seen him with two young girls. He just likes to be seen with pretty girls, I guess. I don’t know anything or if he paid them. If I had asked him, if he had done anything like that, I would have turned him in. A judge is supposed to turn someone in and Mike’s never told me anything like that. If I know an attorney is breaking the law in any way I have to contact the disciplinary council."
Marshall said he never thought sex trafficking was going on in his county.
“I think it’s awful. What happens to these girls, they get these little girls or little boys, that’s what really gets me, and they take them and start giving them drugs, get them hooked, and take them when they are 16 when they are still pretty and then they are done with them and most of them just die. They disappear from the face of the earth.”
The Enquirer published another report outlining other possible sex trafficking and sexual misconduct by two brothers who worked in the Portsmouth City Probation Office. The paper ran another story reporting state investigators were taking a more active role in the sex trafficking case with Portsmouth police.
(Jennifer Edwards Baker. “‘None of it is true’: Portsmouth attorney under state investigation speaks out.” Fox 19 Now. April 05, 2020.)
Mearan sat on William Marshall's drug court – a specialized docket to address persistent criminal behaviors. Very interesting, indeed. This drug court was perhaps much more specialized in purpose than meets the eye.
And, if you go to Michael Mearan's Facebook page, he has a post he made defending himself where a hundred residents of the city posted their love for him and his kindness as a public servant.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Yost said this about Mearan on October 23:
"If Dante were around, he'd invent an eighth circle of hell for this guy.”
Hello mate nice blog
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