This article was written by WTOP’s news partner ARLnow.com and republished with permission.
Police have arrested nine people in Arlington accused of engaging in sex work after the department teamed up with the FBI to investigate child sex trafficking.
“The goals of this proactive operation, which occurred on March 21-22, 2019, were to attempt to locate any juveniles being exploited into sex trade and help raise awareness about sex trafficking in our community,” Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage wrote in a statement Wednesday.
Savage told ARLnow that “no underage individuals were identified during the operation; however, police continue to follow up on investigative leads developed during the operation” and that the suspects charged with prostitution-related crimes were not necessarily involved in human trafficking.
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Together with the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, police say they arrested nine people involved in sex work on a variety of charges, including 8 misdemeanors and 2 felonies.
- Misdemeanor prostitution and felony child endangerment charges against Faith Horton, 22, of Front Royal, Virginia.
- Misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor against Lillian Moody, 22, of Front Royal, Virginia.
- Felony use of a vehicle to promote prostitution against Gary Dulaney, 70, of Clifton, Virginia.
- Misdemeanor prostitution charges against Marquilla Braxton, 21, of D.C.; Ashley Kibler, 22, of Washington, Virginia; Debbie Sanchez, 26, of Sacramento, California; and Wanxiu Kang, 45, of Flushing, New York.
Katherine Haberman, 22, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was also charged with misdemeanor prostitution as well as a marijuana possession charge.
Three suspects have been released on a summons and have not had mugshots taken, per county police policy.
Savage said police and FBI investigated classified ads suspected of involving child sex trafficking.
Arlington police urge anyone with information about potential human trafficking situations in the county to call the Arlington non-emergency line at 703-558-2222 or call the police anonymous tip line 1-866-411-8477.
Victims of human trafficking can call the free 24-hour hotline from the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888.
