WEBER COUNTY, Utah, July 3, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Three men were arrested and booked into the Weber County Jail on solicitation of prostitution after an undercover operation targeting sex trafficking.
On July 2, the Weber County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Bureau conducted the undercover operation, said a news release from WCSO Lt. Cortney Ryan.
“Detectives from the Weber County Sheriff’s Office, along with the assistance of the Salt Lake City Police Department VICE sought out to identify and locate victims of sex trafficking as well as locate those who are running operations that exploit underage victims,” the news release said.
Detectives set up at a local hotel and began to contact those posting to online websites offering services that were sexual in nature. During the operation three males, Ricky Davis, Shaun Shelton and Jose Roman were arrested and booked into the Weber County Jail on solicitation of prostitution. As of Wednesday afternoon, Davis and Shelton were released and no longer in custody of the jail. Roman was still being held in jail as of Wednesday afternoon.
One juvenile female was identified using one of the sexually oriented websites, her and her family were then contacted and services are being provided to assist both the juvenile and her family.
“The sex trade has been a long running problem throughout the country and no area is immune to it,” the news release said. “With the availability of the Internet we have seen an increase in local problems which come along with the business. Protecting our youth is an upmost priority for us and we will continue to conduct these type of operations to help combat the growing trend of exploiting juveniles and our vulnerable population.”
