TEXARKANA, Texas – A police officer in Arkansas was one of three suspects taken into custody during a recent child sex trafficking sting in Texas.
Texarkana is a city in eastern Texas, with a twin city by the same name across the border in Arkansas. Telvin Wilson, 31, was charged with online solicitation of a minor. Wilson had worked for the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department since 2016. The sting was conducted by the Texarkana Texas Police Department, according to the New York Post.
On August 4, the Texarkana Texas Police Department said in a press release on Facebook, “Our Special Investigations Unit conducted a sting operation over the last two days in an effort to combat child sexual trafficking in our area and arrested three people.”
The law enforcement agency said officers originally posted a fake ad on a prostitution site. Investigators posed as an underage girl when they were contacted by the suspects.
“Even though the ‘girl’ told each of them that she talked to that she was underage, each of the three men still wanted to come meet up with her and offered to pay her for sex,” the Texarkana Texas Police Department wrote on Facebook. “When the guys showed up and knocked, they were shocked when several police officers answered the door instead of the young girl they were expecting.”
Wilson was immediately terminated once the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department became aware of the arrest, the agency told Fox News.
During Black History Month in February 2023, Wilson wrote that he became a police officer to make a difference in his community.
“I have always wanted to be that officer that is able to communicate with the public and be comfortable while doing so,” a department Facebook post from February reads. “I like that I stand in the gap and be the one that our young people can come and talk to.”
Telvin Wilson was charged with online solicitation of a minor. (Texarkana Arkansas Police Department – Facebook)
In addition to Wilson, the other two suspects arrested were identified as 33-year-old Adarius Wills and 37-year-old James Willis.
Charges were listed as follows:
- Telvin Wilson, 31, was charged with online solicitation of a minor (sexual conduct). His bond was set at $100,000.
- James Willis, 37, was charged with online solicitation of a minor (sexual conduct), delivery of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, evading arrest, abandoning/endangering a child with intent to return, and possession of a controlled substance. His bond has not yet been set.
- Adarius Wills, 33, was charged with online solicitation of a minor (sexual vonduct) and delivery of marijuana. His bond was set at $85,000.
“Thank you to the investigators with the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office, FBI, and Texas Department of Public Safety for their invaluable help with this operation,” the police department’s press release added.
