4 Men Arrested In DuPont Human Trafficking Bust

DUPONT, WA —Members of the Washington State Patrol's Missing and Exploited Children Task Force joined with several other local and federal agencies to make four arrests and rescue a young victim of sex trafficking. WSP said the sting focused on arrested predators who lure young girls for sexual purposes.

During the operation, detectives pose as underage people and agree to meet the men at a location - this time in DuPont. Investigators said one of the suspects traveled all the way from Tumwater.

“While DuPont is a safe community, we are not naive to the fact that being situated along the I-5 corridor brings with it transient crime, to include human trafficking and child predators," said DuPont Police Chief Douglas Newman.

"The safety of our children and citizens is our number one priority, and we want to send a message to anyone who is thinking of victimizing the innocent: Don’t come to DuPont to hurt our kids or our community," Newman said.

Investigators said the sting was done with the cooperation of an unidentified DuPont hotel. The four men arrested are expected to face charges of human trafficking, sex abuse of a minor, and communicating with a minor for immortal purposes.