On January 29, 2024, five men were arrested after members of the Berks County District Attorney’s Human Trafficking Task Force conducted an undercover operation to combat the illegal sex trade in Berks County. Detectives began their investigation by posting advertisements on websites commonly known for sexual promotions in an effort to combat commercial sexual exploitation. The individuals who were charged include Richard Keene, 70, Darvin B. Eby, 52, Adam Ismaili, 34, James E. Moon, 67, and Percival R. Williams, 46. These men are facing multiple charges, including attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, attempted statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with minor, corruption of minors, criminal use of a communication facility, trafficking in individuals, and attempted patronizing prostitutes.
The Berks County District Attorney Office stated that Keene, Eby, Ismaili, and Moon allegedly responded to the ads and agreed to buy sex from minors reportedly aged from 14 to 17 years old. The communications revealed that each man purportedly agreed to meet the minors at undisclosed locations within Berks County in exchange for money. Detectives arrested the men without incident when they arrived at the undisclosed locations. Each man was then transported to the Berks County Sheriff’s Department Central Processing Center to be formally charged.
Williams allegedly posted a prostitution advertisement and purportedly transported a woman to a hotel in Berks County where Williams arranged for her to meet with a sex buyer that responded to his advertisement. Williams was then arrested at the hotel without incident. He faces charges including promoting prostitution and related offenses and criminal use of a communication facility. In 2014, Williams plead guilty in New Jersey for conspiracy to commit human trafficking and promoting prostitution, and was sentenced to ten years in state prison.
According to Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams, “as a result of [the] undercover investigation, we arrested five individuals.” DA Adams further commented by stating, “this is what we are combating in this task force and this insidious behavior needs to be stopped. It’s a problem.”
The Berks County District Attorney’s Office established the Human Trafficking Task Force to combat human trafficking in the Berks County community. The Task Force is made up of representatives from the Department of Homeland Security, state, city, and county police departments, as well as individuals from the Berks County District Attorney Office’s Victim and Witness Unit and Zoe International.
In September 2022, we previously reported a similar successful operation by the Berks County District Attorney’s Human Trafficking Task Force to combat the illegal sex trade in Berks County. This undercover investigation resulted in the arrest of three individuals. All three individuals allegedly responded to an advertisement posted by detectives and agreed to buy sex from minors reportedly aged 13 to 15.
Additionally, in March 2023, we previously reported about another similar successful operation that the Berks County District Attorney’s Human Trafficking Task Force conducted. During this undercover investigation, the Berks County District Attorney’s Human Trafficking Task Force arrested eight individuals with help from the Department of Homeland Security. This particular investigation was known as “Operation to Catch a Predator”, and its goal was to locate perpetrators who were using sex apps to seek out minors.
Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams shared a crucial sentiment regarding the most recent investigation by stating, “the harsh reality is that human trafficking is happening in our community. Future perpetrators should take heed that the person they’re interacting with on these websites, could be a member of our Human Trafficking Task Force. And if caught, we will arrest and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.”
The CSE Institute commends the Berks County District Attorney’s Office, Spring Township Police Department, and the Wyomissing Borough Police Department for their efforts in to combat commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking by targeting the sex buyers. The CSE Institute also applauds Berks County District Attorney John Adams for taking a stand against human trafficking and targeting the demand in the sex trade. By targeting the demand of sex buyers, the law enforcement officials are targeting the root cause of sexual exploitation.
The CSE Institute advocates for the adoption of the Equality Model in the United States. The Equality Model consists of four key elements: (1) decriminalization of the prostituted person, (2) criminalization of sex buyers and facilitators with a commitment to treating buying sex as a serious crime, (3) a public education campaign about the inherent harms of prostitution, and (4) funded, robust, holistic exit services for victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The Equality Model directly targets the demand for buying sex by criminalizing sex buyers and traffickers, while decriminalizing the people who are being bought and sold for commercial sex. The decriminalization of people in prostitution recognizes those who are bought and sold for sex as exploited, not as perpetrators of a crime.
The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates on this matter.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.