Joint GBI and Greene County Sheriff’s Office Investigation Rescues 16-Year Old Human Trafficking Victim from Ohio

After a joint investigation involving the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and the GBI’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit, Anthony Holmes, age 32, of Cleveland, OH has been charged with one count of Human Trafficking for transporting a 16-year-old girl from South Carolina to multiple locations around metro Atlanta so that she could be sold for commercial sex.

A GBI agent took the warrant out on Friday, August 4, 2023.  Holmes was booked into the Greene County Jail.

The teenage victim was reported as a missing runaway out of Ohio.  The FBI and South Carolina authorities had previously found and identified the 16-year-old as a victim of human trafficking.  Holmes and another female adult transported the victim from South Carolina to Atlanta where her exploitation continued.

On August 2, 2023, Greene County Sheriff’s Office deputies encountered Holmes, the victim, and the adult woman while deputies were conducting highway interdiction efforts in the area of Greensboro. They attempted to stop Holmes’ car for an equipment violation and Holmes sped away, resulting in a pursuit. The Taliaferro County Sheriff’s Office joined the pursuit and assisted by pitting Holmes’ car.

After the pit maneuver, Greene County deputies noticed multiple red flags indicating the teenager was being sex trafficked. As a result, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office contacted the GBI’s HEAT unit to assist with the investigation. The investigation revealed Holmes trafficked the teenager in multiple locations around Atlanta.

Holmes is currently charged with the following:

• Human Trafficking
• Fleeing and Eluding
• Possession of Marijuana with intent to distribute
• Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
• Possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime
• Contributing to the delinquency if a minor
• Various traffic related charges

The investigation is active and ongoing. Additional charges may follow for Holmes.  Once the investigation is done, it will be given to the Georgia Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Unit for prosecution.

This work is a part of the Georgia Coalition to Combat Human Trafficking, which is funded by a Bureau of Justice Assistance grant. The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council’s (CJCC) Human Trafficking Unit applied for and received funding for Georgia’s first law-enforcement-based statewide task force to address all forms of human trafficking. CJCC oversees the Coalition, which is responsible for creating Georgia’s statewide human trafficking hotline, 1-866-ENDHTGA. Trained law enforcement agents, advocates, and first responders are available 24/7 to answer calls.