Tulsa Officers Bust Man At Motel For Suspected Sex Trafficking

<p>Tulsa&rsquo;s vice squad arrested a man they say was looking for some underage girls to work as prostitutes for him.</p>

Monday, February 8th 2016, 8:52 pm

By: News On 6


Tulsa’s vice squad arrested a man they say was looking for some underage girls to work as prostitutes for him.

Police said the man came to the Tulsa motel from Oklahoma City and thought he was going to meet a 15 and a 16 year old girl that he wanted to pimp out.

Instead, there were about a half-dozen law enforcement officers hiding in the bathroom to make the arrest.

Police said William Johnson answered an ad they placed on a website known for prostitution. They said he didn't seem a bit concerned when the undercover officer claimed to be underage.

"Several times, he told us to be careful because of our age, not to get caught by police. We asked him if we turned 16, he'd help us get a GED for high school and he said he would do that. He said if we had enough money, he'd buy us a car when we turned 16," one officer said.

Police said, since 2012 they've seen a lot more girls as young as 14, involved in prostitution; legally, they can't even consent to sex.

Attorney General Scott Pruitt and U.S. Attorney Danny Williams have made this type of sex trafficking a top priority in Oklahoma.

The officer said, "When you see girls who started prostitution at 14-15 years, by the time they're 25, they have nothing in life. They continue this pattern through their entire life."

He said traffickers recruit girls through Facebook and other social media. He said they start out as finesse pimps.

"He comes in and pretends to be your boyfriend - he loves them, wants to take care of them. Big lure is to get their nails done, get their hair done, buy them clothes, but the pimp controls all the money in the work," said the officer.

When the girls become unhappy or want to quit, the finesse is gone and the men turn into gorilla pimps and become demanding, controlling and threaten the girls and their families.

The AG’s office has provided grant money for these operations.

Tulsa's U.S. Attorney’s Office has recently convicted a half-dozen people for these types of crimes.

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