TWO ARRESTED, CHARGED IN MCMINN COUNTY HUMAN TRAFFICKING INVESTIGATION
MCMINN COUNTY – A joint investigation by Special Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Athens Police Department, and the Office of the 10th District Attorney General has resulted in the arrest of two men accused of attempting to purchase illicit sex from minors.
This week, TBI Agents, working alongside investigators from the Athens Police Department, District Attorney’s Office, McMinn County Sheriff’s Office, 10th Judicial Drug Task Force, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations, conducted an undercover human trafficking operation. Part of the investigation focused on identifying individuals seeking to engage in commercial sex acts with females under the age of 18. During the operation, both Edgar Gallegos (DOB 5/25/84), of Morristown, and Armadi Imade (DOB 8/18/80), of Sevierville, made contact with undercover agents posing as a juvenile girl. The men then arranged a meeting with the undercover agents, and both paid to have sex with an underage girl.
On Thursday, Gallegos was arrested and charged with one count Trafficking a Person for a Commercial Sex Act. He was booked into the McMinn County Jail on a $50,000 bond. On Friday, Imade was arrested and also charged with one count of Trafficking a Person for a Commercial Sex Act. He was booked into the McMinn County Jail on a $125,000 bond.
At this time, the investigation remains active and ongoing, with the possibility of additional arrests and charges.
Information about human trafficking and TBI’s efforts to address this type of crime can be found online at www.ITHasToStop.com.
