ALCOA – A two-day undercover operation by special agents with the TBI Human Trafficking Unit, the Alcoa Police Department, and the 5th Judicial District Attorney General’s Office has resulted in the arrest of seven men accused of seeking illicit sex from minors.

Over a two-day period beginning August 4th, as part of an undercover investigation aimed at addressing human trafficking in East Tennessee, authorities placed several decoy advertisements on websites known to be linked to prostitution and commercial sex cases. The focus of the operation was to identify individuals seeking to engage in commercial sex acts with minors. As a result of the operation, authorities arrested seven men. All were booked into the Blount County Jail on the following charges:

• Rene Gonzalez (DOB: 8/5/79), Sevierville: One count of Trafficking for a Commercial Sex Act. $25,000 bond.
• Hardkkumar Patel (DOB: 8/9/91), Knoxville: One count of Trafficking for a Commercial Sex Act. $25,000 bond.
• Jorge Pickens (DOB: 5/10/02), Knoxville: One count of Trafficking for a Commercial Sex Act. $25,000 bond.
• Bradford Hartman (DOB: 10/14/88), Maryville: One count of Trafficking for a Commercial Sex Act. $35,000 bond.
• Kenneth Price (DOB: 7/31/62), Rogersville: One count of Trafficking for a Commercial Sex Act. $35,000 bond.
• Jeremiah Williams (DOB: 10/5/99), Knoxville: One count of Trafficking for a Commercial Sex Act. $35,000 bond.
• Chethan Ranganatha (DOB: 8/1/83), Knoxville: One count of Trafficking for a Commercial Sex Act. $35,000 bond.

Part of the operation also focused on identifying potential victims of trafficking. Two adult women were cited and offered services such as housing and counseling through Grow Free Tennessee, a program of the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking.

Information about human trafficking and law enforcement’s actions to address the issue in Tennessee can be found online at www.ITHasToStop.com.