Rosebud-Lott Local Teacher, Waco Cop Busted in Prostitution Sting
Forty-seven men, including at least one potential child predator, were recently arrested in another large-scale prostitution sting in McLennan County. Two of those arrested were men you'd expect to be able to trust - a police officer and a teacher.
KWTX reports that the four-week undercover operation was conducted as part of a national Johns Suppression Initiative, and that McLennan County ranked 6th in the nation for arrests.
Human trafficking detective Joseph Scaramucci told KWTX a potential john contact him requesting a young girl. Each time the detective gave the man a number, he reportedly said he "liked younger". The man, identified as Crescencio Resendez-Galicia, eventually agreed to meet in hopes of sleeping with an 11-year-old girl.
Rosebud-Lott ISD teacher Jared James was also busted in the sting, and faces a prostitution charge. He remains employed by the district pending an investigation.
Waco Police Department officer Willy Lopez was also busted, and has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
Scaramucci told KWTX that the idea of encounters with prostitutes being a mutually consensual business deal is antiquated, and that most of the girls and women he encounters in his line of work have been forced or coerced.
McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara said he knows the county's jail is getting crowded, but added, "[W]e will stack these in there like card wood, you can count on it."