The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 06:32 PM

Two Women Arrested In Sex Trafficking Sting Tuesday Are Pregnant According To KCSO

Two women arrested in connection to a sex trafficking sting Tuesday in Cedar Bluff are pregnant, according to a Knox County Sheriff's Office investigator.

At 12:26 a.m. Tuesday, the Knox County Sheriff's Office Vice Unit conducted a sting at the Holiday Inn on Executive Park Drive. Authorities said the preparation for the bust took up to three days.

After seeing a post on Backpage.com, investigators made an appointment for a "two girl special." An undercover detective was told to swing by room no. 358 to make a deal with Jesse McMinn and Tabitha Banks for $340 in exchange for one hour of sex.

At a news conference Friday, a KCSO representative confirmed that McMinn and Banks are pregnant.

The undercover detective noticed Timothy King providing security for McMinn and Banks while they provided "sexual services" in a hotel room that was registered under King's name.

Members of the Knox County Sheriff's Office found a 16-year-old girl in King's vehicle at the Holiday Inn. The National Crime Information Center confirmed to deputies she had been missing from Asheville, N.C. for two months. She was taken to the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Center to be reunited with her family.

KCSO told media outlets the teen traveled from North Carolina with the three adults and appeared to be okay.

Banks and McMinn were taken into custody for prostitution. A spokesperson for KCSO said one of the women arrested was wanted in a separate case for vehicular homicide.

The National Sex Trafficking Hotline is 1-888-373-7888. If you see something suspicious, officials say to report it to that number or local authorities.