14 Charged in Prostitution Sting, 3 for Soliciting Children

Agents of the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force arrested 14 people this weekend as a result of an undercover operation designed to address prostitution in the Tuscaloosa area, including three men who were charged with the electronic solicitation of a child.

Lt. Darren Beams, the commander of the task force, said agents worked with the Tuscaloosa Police Department's Juvenile Division to find and arrest the 14 suspects.

"Officers working this detail did an outstanding job on these cases," Beams said. "Operations like these are crucial in the fight to prevent human trafficking from happening in our area."

The three men charged with felonies after the sting are Isabel Ricardo Velasquez, Billy H. Jones and Keuntai M. Herrod.

Jones and Velasquez were both charged with traveling to meet a minor for an unlawful sex act and electronic solicitation of a child. Their bonds were set at $65,000.

Herrod faces the same two felony charges as well as one count of transmitting obscene material to a child. His bond was set at $85,000.

11 more men were charged with solicitation of prostitution, a misdemeanor charge.