ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - A recent multi-agency, online undercover operation coordinated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) resulted in 12 arrests for pandering in Dougherty County.

Pandering is a misdemeanor crime in Georgia, described in Georgia Code as “soliciting a person to perform an act of prostitution.” There were no reported arrests for human trafficking, which is a felony.

WALB News 10 spoke with Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) Ryan Hilton from the GBI’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit to understand why they consider large-scale sex trafficking operations critical, even when they don’t make felony arrests.

“The crime of pandering addresses the demand side. These people have no idea if the person they are paying are being trafficked,” Hilton said. “There is no screening process on the demand side.”

Hilton said the Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit has conducted similar operations in cities across Georgia. He named Cartersville, Perry, McDonough, and Chamblee as locations where similar operations took place. He estimates that half of all sex trafficking operations lead to larger trafficking operations, where felony arrests are made.

Large-scale operations that result in only misdemeanor arrests are still seen as successful, according to Hilton.

“In our attempts to locate victims of sex trafficking, [the operations] often have a larger impact in the community. They often discover crimes associated with guns and drugs. Fugitives are often arrested”, he said.

In the Dougherty County operation, investigators said six sex workers were detained and set up with victim advocates. Hilton said one of their goals is to get sex workers out of the sex trade. “Many take positive steps to get out of that lifestyle”, he said.

Hilton said prostitution, even where there is no coercion against the sex worker, is linked to sex trafficking.

“Pandering and pimping are peripheral crimes to sex trafficking”, Hilton said. “If there were no demand, we would eliminate sex trafficking.”

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