116 arrested, 5 human trafficking victims rescued in 'Operation Relentless Summer': HCSO

TAMPA, Fla. - More than 100 people were arrested and five human trafficking victims were saved during "Operation Relentless Summer," a two-month operation by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office which targeted human trafficking, online exploitation and sexual offenses against children, officials announced Wednesday.

Hillsborough's 'Operation Relentless Summer’ arrests

The backstory:

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier were in Tampa to announce the results of the operation, which ran from June 8 through Aug. 5.

The operation resulted in 116 arrests and the recovery of three adult women and two 16-year-old girls who authorities identified as victims of human trafficking.

"This operation involved real children, real women and real victims who were bought, sold and abused," Chronister said.

Detectives used several investigative techniques, including home search warrants, investigations involving dark web activity, undercover online chats, hotel and motel operations, traveling-to-meet-a-minor investigations and sex offender compliance checks.

Human trafficking victims rescued

Dig deeper:

Officials highlighted several cases, calling them "infuriating and repulsive" during Wednesday's news conference, including a long-running investigation into Frank Amiekumo, 35, who is accused of trafficking women and girls across Florida, Louisiana and Texas for about four years, according to HCSO.

The investigation began in April after HCSO received multiple suspicious calls involving alleged illegal activity and juveniles near a North Tampa home.

According to investigators, Amiekumo recruited women to work at strip clubs and allegedly provided fake identification to underage girls so he could profit from them working at adult clubs.

When the money generated by the women was not enough, Amiekumo forced some of them into commercial sex acts and advertised them online, according to the sheriff’s office.

Investigators also accuse Amiekumo of using physical violence and threats to control the victims and prevent them from leaving.

Chronister said Amiekumo would punch the victims while trying to avoid leaving visible bruises that could affect their ability to generate money.

Investigators identified three adult women and two juvenile girls as victims in the case. They were rescued and connected with victim services through Selah Freedom and One More Child.

HCSO believes there could be additional victims.

Amiekumo, a green card holder from Liberia, was arrested on a warrant at Tampa International Airport with help from airport police.

Amiekumo is being held at the Orient Road Jail without bond. He faces the following charges:

• Two counts of human trafficking of a minor
• Racketeering
• Conspiracy to commit racketeering
• Lewd or lascivious battery
• Deriving proceeds from prostitution
• Forcing or coercing another person to commit prostitution
• Witness tampering
• Evidence tampering

Two of the human trafficking charges are life felonies.

Juvenile detention officer arrested

Officials also announced the arrest of Emmanuel Boamah, 27, a detention officer with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.

Chronister said Boamah contacted undercover detectives through an online advertisement and traveled to meet someone he believed he could pay to have sex with.

Boamah was arrested when he arrived to meet the undercover investigators.

Boamah faces a charge of soliciting another to commit prostitution.

"He should've been an example, someone to look up to," Chronister said. "Instead, he traveled to meet someone he thought he could pay to have sex with."

Tampa child sexual abuse material case

Another case involved Eric Perez-Perez, 20, of Mexico.

Detectives served a search warrant July 2 at a Tampa apartment after receiving information that child sexual abuse material was being uploaded from the home.

Investigators said they found a cellphone containing more than 100 files of child sexual abuse, including images and videos involving teenagers and children younger than 5.

Detectives also found videos depicting sexual activity involving animals and a 15-year-old boy, HCSO said.

According to HCSO, investigators found a custom mobile game downloaded from the dark web that was designed to teach players how to groom children for sexual abuse.

Perez-Perez faces the following charges:

• 100 counts of solicitation of possession of child sexual abuse material involving 10 or more images
• 11 counts of the filming, distribution or possession of sexual activity with an animal
• Unlawful use of a two-way communication device
• Resisting an officer without violence
• Obstruction of service or execution of a search warrant

Perez-Perez remains in custody, HCSO said.

Sheriff warns online predators: ‘We will find you’

What they're saying:

"I want every single predator listening right now, wherever you’re hiding, to hear me," Chronister said. "We will find you, we will kick in your door and take you off our streets, there is no screen or crevice that can keep you hidden."

Chronister also urged human trafficking victims to seek help.

"For anyone listening that may be a victim of human trafficking, it’s not your fault," Chronister said. "You are stronger than you think, please call us so we can help you."

Uthmeier said prosecutions involving crimes against children have increased substantially during his time as attorney general. He also urged parents to pay attention to who their children interact with, particularly online.

"It reminds parents out there, if you don’t know who your children are with and in private you need to be careful. It can be teachers, it can be people at church, it can be coaches, it can be anybody. Evil is everywhere in this world. You need to have an open dialogue with your kids, you need to know what they’re doing on their cell phones," Uthmeier said. "Most of our cases originate through online platforms. We’re going after a lot of these companies civilly and criminally, where they have designed addictive algorithms that keep kids online for hours and hours, and expose them to predators that are deceiving the kids and pretending to be kids themselves."

116 arrests in two months

By the numbers:

Since its creation in 2021, HCSO's Human Trafficking Section has made 1,343 arrests, according to the sheriff's office.

The Internet Predator Unit, established in 2024, has made 368 arrests, while the Sexual Predator Unit, also established in 2024, has made 236 arrests.

Officials said the number of Operation Relentless Summer arrests could increase as outstanding warrants are served.

What you can do:

Anyone who believes they have information about the cases or may have been victimized is asked to contact HCSO detectives at 813-247-8200.

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