ATLANTA, Ga. — Atlanta-area news broke Friday when sandy springs police said a two-day human trafficking operation produced four arrests, the rescue of an adult trafficking victim and three children placed into protective custody.
Police said the coordinated effort targeted people involved in sexual exploitation and related criminal activity at morgan falls overlook park and in the hammond drive area. The department said criminal investigations, street crimes, K9, narcotics and vice, and intelligence units all took part.
Eric Dejuan Lightfoot faces a trafficking-a-person-for-sexual-servitude count. James Brandon faces a pimping count. A third defendant faces prostitution, false-statement and three second-degree cruelty-to-children counts. A fourth defendant faces a solicitation-for-an-illicit-sexual-act count.
Police did not release ages for the defendants or spell out each alleged role. The department also did not say whether the rescued adult or the three children were linked to any particular defendant. Officials said the investigation remains active and that no additional details were available for release Friday.
Fulton County jail records cited in local reporting showed Lightfoot and one other defendant booked on Friday, Oct. 9, with an offense date of Oct. 8. Jail records were not immediately available for Brandon or the fourth defendant. The charges are allegations, and those arrested are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Sandy springs police said the arrests highlight the seriousness of trafficking and offenses involving children, and that detectives will keep pursuing the investigation in the justice system.