Local prostitution sting snares 10; six trafficking victims rescued

A prostitution sting in Bell County snared 10 and led to the rescue of six human-trafficking victims, authorities were announced Wednesday.

Authorities detained eight men and six women in the two-day sting last Thursday and Friday in the Temple area.

Two of the men arrested are Fort Hood soldiers and one is employed at the Killeen Chamber of Commerce, authorities said.

"The purpose of this operation was to identify and arrest individuals seeking sexual acts in exchange for a fee and to identify and rescue victims of sex trafficking," the Bell County Sheriff's Department said in a press release.

Ultimately four of the women, who were considered trafficking victims, were released, but one, whom authorities identified as Fredranisha Lynette Fleming, was held on an unrelated felony warrant and the other, Heather Sullivan, was charged with a Class A misdemeanor because of previous prostitution arrests.

Aaron Bernard Barraza; Jonathan Allen Burton; Kalem Keemo DeWait; Killeen Chamber of Commerce employee Jose Ariel Lopez-Medina; Guillermo Elias Martinez, Rex Allen Adams III; Felipe Rodriguez, and Deleon Krisoff Romero face Class B misdemeanor charges.

Medina has been fired from the chamber, the organization said Wednesday.

Help was sought from an unidentified organization for the six women rescued in the sting.