Attorney General Chris Carr announced the arrests of Denorris Hutchinson and Natasha Bridges on charges of Trafficking of Persons for Sexual Servitude. The arrests followed the recovery of a 17-year-old victim during “Operation Not Forgotten” in Fulton County, underlining Carr’s commitment to addressing child exploitation and safeguarding missing children.
Hutchinson and Bridges were taken into custody as part of “Operation Not Forgotten”, which led to the rescue of a 17-year-old girl from a hotel in Fulton County. Both individuals are accused of trafficking the underage female, said Attorney General Chris Carr.
In a statement, Carr said: “This case serves as yet another reminder that children who are missing are increasingly vulnerable to sex trafficking, and we must do all we can to locate and protect them. It’s been three years since the recovery of this 17-year-old victim, and we continue to identify and charge additional people who we allege were engaged in her trafficking. Nine of those defendants are already in prison, and we have not only made two new arrests but also located a second underage victim who we will keep fighting for every step of the way.”
The operation is described as a joint multi-jurisdictional initiative spearheaded by the U.S. Marshals Service Missing Child Unit with collaborations from several agencies including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit among others. Its main objective is rescuing critically endangered missing children in Georgia. The efforts bore fruit in 2020 when it resulted in the rescue of 26 children, safe location determination for an additional 13 children along with nine arrests linked to criminal activity.
As detailed by the Attorney General’s Office release, in 2019 Attorney General Chris Carr established Georgia’s inaugural Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit with support from Governor Brian Kemp, First Lady Marty Kemp, and leaders within Georgia General Assembly. Over one year, this unit participated in 33 case investigations, provided assistance to 116 victims, leading to 26 convictions in 2023, each resulting in prison sentences. At present, the Unit has indicted 39 defendants on sex or labor trafficking charges, some of whom face charges across multiple jurisdictions within the state.
Lastly, Attorney General Carr emphasized that arrest warrants solely represent allegations made against individuals under arrest.
