Forty-one people, including one juvenile, have been arrested in connection with a human trafficking operation in Nashville. Officials with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Friday that 34 men, six women and one juvenile were arrested during the three-day operation, called Operation Someone Like Me. Among those charged were a high school teacher, a former Vanderbilt University football player, a truck driver, a student and a state IT Specialist. Officials with Metro Nashville Public Schools confirmed that year-old David Shepard is a science teacher at a high school.
He was placed on paid administrative leave on Wednesday and has been employed at the school since Gary Rashad Canty, age 20, was listed on the roaster for the Vanderbilt football team. Undercover agents posted ads online and got a response from men. In some of the ads, agents posed as an individual selling themselves online. When asked, they told the suspects they were a juvenile girl.
TBI spokesperson Josh Devine said 18 men responded and paid to have sex with an underage girl. These men paying for sex with children in our state are only continuing to victimize girls and women.
The nonprofit agency, End Slavery Tennessee, identified potential victims and offered them housing, counseling and treatment. Authorities said one woman accepted and was placed in a safe house. Actions Facebook Tweet Email. Copyright Scripps Media, Inc.
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