More people arrested in Tallahassee child sex, human trafficking investigation
Jeff Burlew
More people have been arrested in a major investigation involving allegations of child sex abuse and human trafficking in Tallahassee.
So far, at least 13 people have been arrested in the operation, according to Leon Circuit Court records. The arrests started Monday and continued Tuesday.
Court personnel mentioned during a Tuesday hearing that the cases are the result of a Tallahassee Police Department investigation dating back to 2018. At least one of the cases also involved the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
TPD and prosecutors have not commented on the investigation, which remains shrouded in secrecy.
None of the defendants' names or mug shots were included in the Leon County Sheriff's Office's daily booking report, and the agency's online inmate search function has not worked for days. Arrest records detailing the allegations are unavailable.
Here are the latest defendants charged in the probe:
- Terrance Faulk, 38, four counts of lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim 12 to 16; three counts of human trafficking involving commercial sexual activity on a incapacitated child.
- Ivan Lopez, 28, lewd and lascivious exhibition with a victim under 16.
- Michael Wooten, 42, two counts of lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim 12 to 16 years of age; unlawful use of a communications device; and failure to register as a sex offender.
The defendants are expected to have their first court appearance today via closed circuit TV from the Leon County Detention Facility.
According to court records, Faulk was sentenced in May to three years of probation in a robbery and battery case. Lopez has a history of arrests on theft charges.
Wooten, a sex offender required to register his whereabouts, was convicted in 2002 on a child sexual battery charge and sentenced to about two and a half years in prison.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.
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