Over 250 individuals were arrested in relation to a human trafficking ring, including one former NFL player. The bust took place in Florida after Polk County police and authorities began a multi-agency, focused effort tihho make the arrests.
The former NFL player arrested in Florida was ex-linebacker Adarius Taylor, who spent seven years in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns.
The Orlando Sentinel noted that, according to Sheriff Grady Judd, Taylor even traveled to the sting with his six-year-old daughter, leaving her in his car as he went inside.
“Obviously he must have hit one too many people as a linebacker, because his brain cells are scrambled,” Judd said about Taylor.
The former linebacker’s daughter was taken into custody by the Florida Department of Children and Families, one of the agencies who helped with this in-depth investigation.
The operation lasted for nine days earlier this month, lasting from May 2 through May 10. Taylor was officially charged with felony negligent child abuse without bodily harm and misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution charges.
255 people were charged in total as a result of the sting, with 141 of those being charged with soliciting prostitutes.
93 people were charged with offering to commit prostitution, and in a disturbing development, 11 were charged with traveling to meet a minor for sex along with other child sex crimes;
A few people were helped after being discovered as trafficking victims, and were assisted by the relevant authorities.
Polk County police referred to their sting as “Operation Fool Around and Find Out,” and Judd issued a warning to anyone else who is operating similar operation.
“A word to the wise: There’ll be another one,” Judd said, hinting that another multi-agency and organization sting will be conducted. This initial look shows that the problem of trafficking still exists in a major way, even with police doing all they can to curtail it.
We’ll see what the future holds for Taylor after his arrest in association with one of the biggest human trafficking and prostitution-related arrests in the state of Florida, or in the entire country.