SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. — The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced eight men are behind bars after a two-day operation in Sevier County to address human trafficking.
The TBI said law enforcement officers from the county, Gatlinburg, Sevierville and Pigeon Forge worked together to arrest eight men accused of seeking illicit sex from minors.
The operation began on April 21. The TBI said authorities placed several decoy advertisements on websites known to be linked to prostitution with the specific intent of finding people trying to engage in commercial sex acts with minors.
Officers arrested the following eight men and booked them into the Sevier County Jail:
- Carl Joseph Cantrell (DOB: 7/16/88), Dandridge, TN: One count of Solicitation of a Minor
- Benjamin Jason Holt (DOB: 10/12/77), Newport, TN: One count of Solicitation of a Minor
- Eric Burse Griffith (DOB: 7/18/81), Robbins, TN: One count of Soliciting Sexual Exploitation of a Minor by Electronic Means
- Denis Tyulkin (DOB: 6/15/76), Ravenna, OH: One count of Solicitation of a Minor
- Tyler Ryan Arrington (DOB: 12/15/92), Lebanon, VA: One count of Solicitation of a Minor
- Raul Pedro (DOB: 5/28/94), Knoxville, TN: One count of Solicitation of a Minor
- Kevin Leroy Baer (DOB: 12/16/55), Westminster, MD: One count of Solicitation of a Minor
- Ivan Kale Freeman (DOB: 1/27/92), Knoxville, TN: One count of Solicitation of a Minor
