Authorities claim that a Florida man was detained for soliciting a prostitute while he was on his honeymoon.
In a press release, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) reported that its Human Trafficking Squad had detained 176 males as part of a campaign against prostitution and human trafficking in Hillsborough County, Florida, that lasted for many months.
One of the men arrested was the 34-year-old newlywed, Paul Turovsky.
While Turovsky was on his honeymoon, he responded to an advertisement placed by an undercover cop pretending to be a prostitute. According to the news release, Turovsky, who reportedly wed in July and was honeymooning in Tampa when he left his wife at their hotel as she dozed off and went to the undercover location where he was arrested.
“We all probably have questions about how long this marriage lasted, but I think the only question here, with it ending so quickly, as a wedding guest, was it too late to get the gifts that they gave returned back to them?” Sheriff Chad Chronister said.
Turovsky, however, is not accused of any involvement in human trafficking or with minors.
Most of the 176 men arrested are facing charges related to solicitation of prostitution. Police said that when a group of men “went looking to persuade kids into having sex with them.”
One of HCSO’s human trafficking arrest. pic.twitter.com/wPLGGyhVXN
— HCSO (@HCSOSheriff) August 25, 2022
Ten males were detained after engaging in “inappropriate conversations” and sharing pictures with undercover detectives they believed to be underage boys or girls.
The department’s newly formed Human Trafficking Squad for the arrests, Police credited, since it was established in June 2021. They claimed that 360 people have been arrested – along with eight victims of human trafficking who were rescued.
“When I became Sheriff — I made a commitment to fight illegal prostitution and to protect the citizens of Hillsborough County from being victimized by predators in our midst,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “The Human Trafficking Squad has been given all the resources they need to save the victims, who often find themselves in a dark and dangerous life with no way out.”
The sheriff’s office said that two human trafficking suspects were also detained. They were traveling from Massachusetts to Tampa, Florida, with two missing and endangered teenagers. Police also said one victim was taken to rehab and was returned to her mother and another was returned to her family in another state.
“Most recently, HCSO detectives learned of two male human trafficking suspects who traveled from Massachusetts to Tampa with two missing and endangered teens,” police said. “In the course of their investigation, deputies were able to find one adult with one teen sleeping in a vehicle at a local grocery store, and the second victim at a nearby hotel with the second suspect, and an additional adult male suspect. All three suspects were arrested, and the missing teens taken into protective custody.”
Watch it here: Youtube/HSCOSheriff
Sources: WesternJournal, Americarevealed, 850wftl