Ohio Operation Next Door Sting Nets 135 Arrests

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost led “Operation Next Door,” a weeklong statewide human‑trafficking sting run by the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission and more than 100 law‑enforcement agencies that resulted in 135 arrests across urban, suburban and rural communities. Of those arrested, 103 were charged with prostitution or solicitation and 32 face felony counts such as promoting or compelling prostitution, seeking sex with a minor and drug trafficking. Authorities executed nine search warrants at massage parlors in Cleveland, Akron and Toledo, seized about $62,000 statewide (roughly $32,000 in Toledo) and brought promoting‑prostitution charges tied to those sites; some defendants were charged after positive HIV tests. The operation referred 67 potential trafficking survivors to health‑care and social‑service organizations and generated evidence for ongoing investigations aimed at attacking demand, identifying traffickers and rescuing victims. Notable arrests cited in reporting include Rev. Dean Dimon, described as a 76‑year‑old priest charged with soliciting prostitution, multiple central‑Ohio residents accused of seeking sex with minors, and three Washington County men; officials vowed continued investigations and prosecutions.