Anti-human trafficking unit in McLennan County arrests 12 during latest sting

WACO, Texas (KWTX) – The McLennan County Sheriff's Office's Human Trafficking Unit arrested 12 individuals during a sting operation targeting human trafficking.

Some of the suspects were reportedly looking to pay for sex, including three who allegedly solicited from a minor. Five other individuals were allegedly in possession of child pornography.

“They're trading this child pornography back and forth, and these people are really sick,” said McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara in a press conference Wednesday.

The sheriff's office said two of the child pornography cases were initiated following an investigation into Leonard Newman, who remains in the McLennan County Jail on a charge of continuous trafficking of persons. The investigation highlighted for leading investigators to more suspects.

“Those are five people that are involved in his case, and they will be arrested shortly, so we have five more involved in the distribution of child pornography,” McNamara adds.

The other suspects arrested arrested are:

• Leslie Freeman, of Fairfield, charged with continuous trafficking of persons
• Gregory Lechuga, charged with solicitation of prostitution of a minor
• Omar Duarte, charged with solicitation of prostitution of a minor
• Cory Zimmerman, charged with solicitation of prostitution of a minor
• Kameron Pillow, charged with solicitation of prostitution
• Cesar Carillo, charged with solicitation of prostitution
• Zahion Poe, charged with solicitation of prostitution
• Brian Taylor, charged with solicitation of prostitution
• Francisco Mauricio-Medina, charged with solicitation of prostitution
• Timothy McNeil, charged with solicitation of prostitution
• David Rhone, charged with solicitation of prostitution

“The message is getting out here, locally, and this is not a good place to do this, and these passers through, or whatever they are, that just go online and may not have heard of McLennan County or this effort here, and it's like a drag net, we're going to snag ‘em and they're going to jail and they're going to be charged,” said McNamara.

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