Child Sex Sting In Eau Claire Results In 9 Arrests

An online child sex sting in Eau Claire has led to nine arrests and attracted interest from hundreds of individuals.

Law enforcement organized the sting after noticing a large amount of online interest in child prostitution on websites like Craigslist. Matt Rokus, a deputy chief for the Eau Claire Police Department, said nine men agreed to meet officers posing as children and were arrested.

“These nine individuals believed they were meeting with somebody who was in their early teens. So we’re not talking about 17 or 18 years old — we’re talking about school-aged children they thought they were meeting.”

This is the second child sex trafficking sting in Eau Claire in just over a year. Five men were arrested in September 2013. Jodi Emerson works with the regional nonprofit Fierce Freedom, which works to fight human trafficking. She said people don’t expect child sex trafficking to be an issue in their towns, partly since it’s moved online and isn’t always visible.

“So it’s very quiet, and if people don’t see that it’s happening right out in front of them they don’t want to think that it’s happening,” said Emerson.

Emerson said these are not victimless crimes.

“They’d like to think that this person is trying to make money, they’re selling themselves, and that’s very rarely the case,” she said. “Ninety percent of human trafficking is pimp-controlled prostitution.”

Emerson said that since the founding of Fierce Freedom and an increased number of stings, people are realizing human trafficking is a real problem in all parts of the state. She said that’s a first step in working to shut it down.