January 1, Youth Pastor, Firefighter, HS Teacher Among Those Arrested in Undercover Sting

A massive undercover sting operation in Texas ended with the arrest of 46 men, including a high school teacher, youth pastor, hockey player, and a volunteer firefighter.

About a dozen law enforcement agencies took part in the two-day operation on Jan. 12 and 13 in Frisco, Texas, authorities said.

The suspects allegedly made arrangements online to meet at a local hotel where they intended to pay for sexual activity, according to authorities.

Under Texas law, the solicitation of prostitution is felony charge, punishable by up two years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Teacher, youth pastor arrested

Among those arrested was Cecil Tim Morrison, a teacher at Marcus High School, where he also served as the football team’s offensive coordinator.

The teacher was placed on administrative leave after the school district learned of his arrest, and he submitted his resignation last week, the Lewisville Independent School District (ISD) said.

Larmarcus Strickland, a youth pastor from Forth Worth, was also arrested, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office said.

‘Heinous crimes’

Officials from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas said the operation coincides with the Department of Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign, highlighting Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

“The victims of these heinous crimes are treated like commodities, used to make as much money as possible, as quickly as possible,” said Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn.

“Those who traffic victims are the scourge of the earth, and we will continue to target those responsible for the trafficking and those who solicit sex from them,” the sheriff added.

Anyone who is a victim or has information about other local sex trafficking cases should call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text HELP or INFO to BeFree (233733).

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Source: Fox News