LIBERTY – Fourteen men were arrested during a single-day human trafficking operation that targeted individuals seeking to buy sex via the internet, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Liberty Township Police Chief Toby Meloro announced today.

The operation, which took place Sunday,s conducted by the Liberty Township Police Department in cooperation with the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force, a task force under the attorney general’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, according to a media release released today by the Ohio Attorney General.

“John stings deter those seeking to purchase sex – reducing the demand for human trafficking – and serve as a reminder that these crimes are more prevalent and closer to home than you may think,” Yost said. “Hats off to Chief Meloro and the Liberty Township Police Department on their successful operation.”

The following individuals were arrested and charged with soliciting, a third-degree misdemeanor, and possessing criminal tools, a first-degree misdemeanor:

Willie Daniels Jr., 37, Youngstown

Saad Elamin, 43, Campbell

Omar Farooq, 37, Hermitage, PA

Thomas Hendricks, 66, Salem

Ryan Kirkpatrick, 26, residence unknown

Harry Krause, 63, Youngstown

Matthew Lennington, 28, Cortland

James Lohmier, 38, Boardman

Nick Mymo, 37, Niles

Brian O’Nora, 57, Youngstown

David Shaffer, 46, Mineral Ridge

William Shaw Sr., 58, Moyock, NC

Brian Van Divner, 54, New Franklin

Johnny Young, 55, Youngstown

Agencies involved in the operation include the Liberty Township Police Department, Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force, Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force, Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, Austintown Police Department, Youngstown Police Department, Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Ohio State Highway Patrol and Ohio Investigative Unit, and the Ohio Adult Parole Authority.

For more on this story, read Tuesday’s editions.