A major Florida investigation has resulted in 116 arrests and the recovery of five human trafficking victims including two 16-year-old girls.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office conducted “Operation Relentless Summer” from June 8 through August 5, 2026. The coordinated crackdown targeted alleged human trafficking, online child exploitation, sexual predators, and individuals accused of attempting to meet minors for sexual activity.
The operation included residential searches, dark-web investigations, undercover online communications, sex-offender compliance checks, and hotel and motel operations.
Five trafficking victims, three adult women and two teenage girls were recovered and connected with support services. Authorities believe additional victims may not yet have come forward.
This operation represents important law-enforcement action. But arrests alone do not repair the harm inflicted upon survivors. Criminal accountability must be accompanied by long-term support, meaningful prevention, and access to civil justice.
Florida Authorities Announce 116 Arrests
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office reported that its Human Trafficking Section, Internet Predator Squad, and Sexual Predator Unit worked together throughout the two-month operation.
Investigators employed several enforcement strategies, including:
- Undercover hotel and motel investigations
- Residential search warrants
- Warrants connected to alleged dark-web activity
- Undercover online chat investigations
- Investigations involving people allegedly traveling to meet minors
- Sex-offender monitoring and compliance checks
The scope of the operation demonstrates how trafficking and child sexual exploitation can cross physical and digital spaces. Exploitation may begin through online grooming, continue through coercion and violence, and occur inside otherwise legitimate businesses including hotels, motels, clubs, and online platforms.
Frank Amiekumo Accused of Trafficking Women and Girls Across Three States
One of the operation’s most significant investigations involved 35-year-old Frank Amiekumo.
Authorities allege Amiekumo trafficked women and girls across Florida, Louisiana, and Texas for approximately four years. According to published reports, investigators accuse him of recruiting women to work in strip clubs and providing false identification to girls who were underage.
Authorities further allege that Amiekumo forced women and girls to engage in commercial sex acts and used violence, threats, and coercion to maintain control.
Investigators arrested Amiekumo at Tampa International Airport. He reportedly faces charges that include:
- Human trafficking of a minor
- Racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering
- Lewd or lascivious battery
- Deriving proceeds from prostitution
- Forcing, compelling, or coercing prostitution
- Witness tampering
- Evidence tampering
- Unlawful use of a communication device to commit a felony
The investigation identified three adult women and two 16-year-old girls as alleged victims. Authorities have indicated that more victims may exist.
These allegations are a stark reminder that trafficking does not always involve kidnapping by a stranger. Traffickers frequently recruit, groom, deceive, isolate, threaten, and financially exploit victims. They may initially offer employment, housing, affection, protection, or financial security before escalating their control.
Eric Perez Perez Faces More Than 100 Charges
The operation also led to the arrest of Eric Perez Perez following a search of a Tampa apartment.
Investigators reportedly searched the residence after receiving information that child sexual abuse material had been uploaded from that location. Authorities allege that they discovered more than 100 files of child sexual abuse material on a cellphone.
Investigators also allegedly found videos involving sexual activity with animals and a dark-web mobile game reportedly designed to teach users how to groom children for sexual abuse.
Perez Perez faces more than 100 charges, including allegations involving the possession or solicitation of child sexual abuse material and offenses involving sexual activity with animals.
Child sexual abuse material is not simply an image or a file. It is permanent documentation of a child’s sexual exploitation. Every download, possession, exchange, or redistribution can continue the violation long after the original abuse occurred.
Hotels and Motels Must Be Part of the Accountability Conversation
Authorities confirmed that Operation Relentless Summer included hotel and motel investigations. Publicly available reports do not identify particular properties as participants in the alleged trafficking scheme, and an investigation occurring at a property does not itself establish civil liability.
Nevertheless, the inclusion of hotel and motel operations matters.
Traffickers frequently use short-term lodging because it provides private rooms, frequent guest turnover, multiple entrances, and a degree of anonymity. Hotel employees and operators may encounter warning signs such as:
- Frequent requests for new towels or linens without housekeeping
- Multiple men entering and leaving the same room
- A guest who appears fearful, controlled, or unable to speak independently
- An adult closely monitoring a younger person’s movements
- Cash payments or repeated short stays
- Excessive condom packaging or other evidence of commercial sex
- A controlling individual holding another person’s identification or money
- Guests repeatedly refusing staff entry
- Online advertisements that appear to depict hotel rooms
A single sign may not prove trafficking. A repeated pattern, however, demands attention.
Businesses cannot treat trafficking indicators as someone else’s responsibility particularly when they continue collecting room revenue while obvious warning signs go unaddressed.
Can Trafficking Survivors Bring Civil Claims Against Hotels?
Potentially, yes.
The federal Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act provides trafficking survivors with a civil cause of action against their traffickers. It may also permit claims against businesses that knowingly benefited from participating in a venture they knew or should have known was engaged in trafficking.
Depending on the evidence, potential defendants may include hotels, motels, property owners, management companies, franchise operators, online platforms, or other businesses that allegedly benefited from or facilitated a trafficking venture.
Relevant evidence in a hotel trafficking case may include:
- Employee observations and complaints
- Internal incident reports
- Surveillance recordings
- Guest records and payment information
- Prior police calls
- Online reviews describing suspected trafficking
- Repeated room rentals connected to the same trafficker
- Staff training and reporting policies
- Communications between employees and management
- Whether the business acted after receiving warnings
Civil litigation can uncover records and practices that a survivor may never otherwise be able to access. It can also hold financially benefiting entities accountable when their conduct contributed to the conditions that allowed trafficking to continue.
Each case is fact-specific. The presence of trafficking at a hotel does not automatically establish that the hotel is legally responsible. An experienced trafficking attorney can investigate what the business knew, what it should have recognized, whether it benefited financially, and what action it took or failed to take.
Survivors Need More Than Rescue
The word “rescued” can make trafficking sound as though it ends the moment law enforcement intervenes. It does not.
Survivors may face lasting trauma, housing insecurity, medical needs, criminal records stemming from their exploitation, disrupted education, financial instability, and justified fear of retaliation. Some survivors remain emotionally or financially connected to the person who trafficked them.
Recovery requires sustained, trauma-informed support. It may include:
- Safe housing
- Medical and mental-health care
- Victim advocacy
- Legal representation
- Education and employment assistance
- Record-clearing services
- Safety planning
- Financial support
- Long-term community connection
Survivors should never be blamed for the methods traffickers used to control them. Coercion can include violence, threats, fraud, debt, isolation, manipulation, addiction, withheld identification, or threats against children and family members.
Criminal Charges and the Presumption of Innocence
The allegations discussed in this article are based on statements from law enforcement and published news reports. Charges are accusations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
That presumption does not prevent survivors from learning about their rights, preserving evidence, or consulting a civil attorney. A civil trafficking claim is separate from a criminal prosecution and serves a different purpose.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Operation Relentless Summer?
Operation Relentless Summer was a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office initiative conducted from June 8 through August 5, 2026. It targeted alleged human trafficking, online predators, child sexual exploitation, and sexual offenders.
How many people were arrested?
Authorities reported 116 arrests. Those arrested have not necessarily been convicted, and the charges may vary significantly among the individual cases.
How many trafficking victims were recovered?
Law enforcement reported recovering five victims: three adult women and two 16-year-old girls. Investigators believe additional victims may exist.
Were hotels involved in the operation?
The Sheriff’s Office confirmed that investigators conducted hotel and motel operations. Public reports reviewed for this article do not identify specific properties as legally responsible for trafficking.
Can a trafficking survivor sue a hotel?
Possibly. Under federal law, a survivor may be able to bring a civil claim against a business that knowingly benefited from participation in a venture it knew or should have known was engaged in trafficking. Liability depends on the specific facts and evidence.
Does a survivor need a criminal conviction before pursuing a civil case?
Not necessarily. Civil and criminal proceedings are separate. However, an ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution may affect the timing of civil litigation.
Speaking With a Human Trafficking Lawyer About Your Rights
Operation Relentless Summer reflects the scale and persistence of human trafficking and online child exploitation. It also reinforces an essential truth: accountability cannot stop with the individual trafficker.
When hotels, businesses, or other entities ignore warning signs or profit from conditions that enable exploitation, survivors deserve a careful investigation into whether those entities may also bear responsibility.
The sexual abuse and trafficking attorneys at Andreozzi + Foote represent survivors in civil cases nationwide. Our trauma-informed legal team can explain your rights, investigate potential defendants, and help you understand the options that may be available.
Contact Andreozzi + Foote confidentially at (866) 858-3790 or info@vca.law.
Image courtesy of CBS 12.