HSI investigation results in multiple human trafficking related charges

SPRING HILL, Tenn. – An undercover investigation, aimed at addressing human trafficking in middle Tennessee, resulted in the arrest of 18 men accused of seeking illicit sex from minors.

The more than two-day operation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Human Trafficking Unit, Spring Hill Police Department, FBI and the office of the 22nd Judicial District Attorney General.

Beginning on July 8, 2021, the operation focused on identifying and recovering potential human trafficking victims as well as identifying those seeking to engage in commercial sex acts with minors. Law enforcement placed several decoy advertisements on websites known to be linked to prostitution and commercial sex cases.

Individuals charged and booked into the Maury County (Tennessee) Jail include:

• Georgie George, 25, of Clarksville, Tennessee, charged with patronizing prostitution from a minor.
• Marvin Sparkman, 29, of Columbia, Tennessee, charged with solicitation of a minor.
• Steven McCanless, 26, of Culleoka, Tennessee, charged with the solicitation of a minor.
• Ketankumar Patel, 53, of Columbia, Tennessee, charged with patronizing prostitution from a minor.
• Ivan Ashley, 49, of Dania, Florida, charged with patronizing prostitution from a minor.
• David Christopher May, 26, of Fayetteville, Tennessee, charged with solicitation of a minor.
• Andrew Myung Kim, 38, of Franklin, Tennessee, charged with patronizing prostitution from a minor.
• Bryce Lawson, 24, of Charles, Louisiana, charged with patronizing prostitution from a minor.
• Jeremiah McSpaddin, 36, of Spring Hill, Tennessee, charged with solicitation of a minor.
• Brian Mitchell, 50, of Thompson’s Station, Tennessee, charged with patronizing prostitution from a minor.
• Nabi Rahman, 33, of Nashville, Tennessee, charged with patronizing prostitution from a minor.
• Patrick Harris, 32, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, charged with patronizing prostitution from a minor.
• Matthew Brewer, 47, of Centerville, Tennessee, charged with solicitation of a minor.
• Suleiman Musa Osman, 38, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, charged with patronizing prostitution from a minor.
• Juan Gabriel Hernandez Eufracio, 36, of Huntsville, Alabama, charged with patronizing prostitution from a minor.
• Pablo Godines Cervantes, 51, of Columbia, Tennessee, charged with patronizing prostitution from a minor.
• Haojie Wang, 32, of Brentwood, Tennessee, charged with patronizing prostitution from a minor.
• Luis Diaz-Mendez, 27, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, charged with patronizing prostitution from a minor.

The investigation remains ongoing with additional charges pending.

HSI is a directorate of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move.

HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.