Federal investigators are searching for a 38-year-old Florida man accused of trafficking at least six women in a case that stretched from central Ohio hotels near Easton Town Center to cities across the country. Raymond Jones is wanted on charges including sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, interstate transportation for the purpose of prostitution, and use of a facility of interstate commerce in aid of racketeering.
According to FOX 8 News, some of the alleged crimes occurred at a central Ohio shopping center near Easton, and Jones is periodically known to be in Columbus even though he is originally from Florida. Investigators say the case involves victims in several cities, including Columbus, and that Jones traveled to multiple states as part of the alleged scheme.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Rausch, who is prosecuting the case, said Jones essentially sold women after moving them between states. Rausch previously worked for the Ohio Attorney General's Office and the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office, and the case unfolded near where she was raised, according to the same report.
A Tip That Cracked the Case
Rausch said the investigation began after a human trafficking task force received a tip from a law enforcement officer in central Ohio who noticed red flags in someone she knew personally. That tip set off the inquiry that led to charges against Jones, and Rausch has said he may have additional victims beyond the six already identified in the case.
Investigators say Jones used a distinctive method to avoid detection while moving women between locations: he checked into hotels using either his own name or the names of his victims, according to the report. Authorities say the alleged crimes played out at hotels near Easton and at other properties around the country as Jones moved his operation across state lines.
How the Search Is Being Coordinated
Michael Black, the U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio, said the agency's network of offices allows investigators to track Jones no matter where he travels in the country. Anyone with information on his whereabouts can submit a tip through the U.S. Marshals Service website.
The manhunt comes as federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Ohio have made human trafficking cases a persistent priority. A U.S. Department of Justice report found the district's U.S. Attorney's Office filed the second-highest number of federal human trafficking cases of any federal judicial district in the country in 2020, underscoring how central Ohio has become a national focal point for these prosecutions.
Part of a Broader Local Crackdown
The search for Jones follows a string of recent local task force actions targeting trafficking operations run out of Columbus-area hotels. In July, the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force secured a 42-count indictment against nine people accused of coercing women into commercial sex work at a west Columbus hotel and laundering the proceeds through a local florist, a case Hoodline covered in the west Columbus motel indictment. That task force operates under the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission within the Ohio Attorney General's Office and is led by the Columbus Division of Police, pulling together local, state and federal agencies.
In May, a Delaware County grand jury indicted five people following a separate task force investigation into a north Columbus trafficking operation that targeted a survivor with developmental disabilities, a case detailed in Hoodline's report on the north Columbus trafficking indictment. Just weeks ago, Hoodline also reported that a Columbus trafficking figure known as “Blue,” who had terrorized the Linden neighborhood, was sentenced to up to 22 years in prison, part of a pattern of multi-defendant prosecutions moving through Franklin and Delaware county courts.
Federal law gives prosecutors significant leverage in cases like the one against Jones. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1591, sex trafficking charges involving force, fraud or coercion carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and up to life imprisonment if a defendant is convicted, along with mandatory victim restitution, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Federal courts in the Southern District of Ohio have also repeatedly handled civil and criminal cases involving hotel properties accused of allowing trafficking on their premises under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.
It remains unclear which specific hotel properties near Easton or elsewhere were used in the alleged scheme, and investigators have not said whether additional victims have come forward since Jones was named a fugitive. The Ohio Attorney General's Office maintains a statewide tip line at 844-END-OHHT, alongside the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, for members of the public who may have information relevant to trafficking investigations across the state.
