JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee – Four men face charges after a two-day Johnson City human trafficking operation run by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Johnson City Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations, the TBI said Monday.
Investigators worked the operation on October 29 and 30. Agents from the TBI’s Human Trafficking Unit placed decoy advertisements on websites linked to prostitution and commercial sex. The main goal was to identify people seeking sex acts with minors, according to the TBI.
All four men went to the Washington County Detention Center after their arrests.
Who was charged
- 38-year-old Chad Andrew Roberts of Kingsport: one count of solicitation of a minor and one count of patronizing prostitution of a minor.
- 28-year-old Charles O. Santarpia of Johnson City: one count of patronizing prostitution of a minor.
- 32-year-old Noah Brandon Patris of Johnson City: one count of patronizing prostitution of a minor.
- 27-year-old James Edward Turner of Kingsport: one count of patronizing prostitution of a minor and one count of evading arrest.
Effort to identify victims
Another part of the operation focused on finding potential victims of human trafficking. The TBI said a woman arrested during that portion received an offer of services through Grow Free Tennessee, a program of the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking.
The charges are accusations, not evidence of guilt. The TBI noted that each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law.
Similar stings have turned up in other parts of the state. Agents arrested five men in a Sumner County human trafficking operation that also identified nine possible victims.
How to report a suspected case
Anyone can report suspected human trafficking by calling the Tennessee Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-855-55-TNHTH. The TBI posts information about human trafficking and its work on these cases at www.ITHasToStop.com.
