Lorain County task force arrests 14 men during statewide human trafficking crackdown

Fourteen men are facing criminal charges in Lorain County following a weeklong anti-human trafficking operation by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Leading the effort in Lorain County was the HEAL Human Trafficking Task Force, led by the Lorain County Sheriff's Office and composed of Huron, Erie, Ashland and Lorain county deputies plus Amherst, Sheffield, Sheffield Lake and Perkins Township police and the U.S. Border Patrol. The task force made 14 arrests, aided four human trafficking victims, seized two guns and more than $18,600 in cash, officials said. The arrests were among 122 made in 15 Ohio counties May 13-20 as part of "Operation Spring Cleaning," led by the Ohio Attorney General's Office. The task force on May 13 served a search warrant at King Me Spa at 35111 Royalton Road in Eaton Township. Agents seized $18,622 in cash and referred three alleged human trafficking victims to social services, according to the Attorney General's Office. The business was closed and an investigation is ongoing, according to the Sheriff's Office. In that case, Mesha Michael-Savio, 33, of Butternut Ridge Road, was arrested and charged with pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, a felony. Court records indicated that on Nov. 3, 2025, Michael-Savio allegedly uploaded three videos to Google showing young children "engaging in sexual conduct." Michael-Savio was being held in the Lorain County Jail on $750,000 bond, according to jail records. His case has been bound over to a Lorain County grand jury for consideration. Another man was charged with trafficking a victim for sex, while 12 were accused of soliciting sex for hire or patronizing locations seeking for sex for hire, according to the Sheriff's Office. On May 15, task force agents working in "various locations" around Lorain County arrested 12 men "allegedly seeking to engage in commercial sexual activity with adults and minors," the Sheriff's Office said. During those arrests, they seized two guns and Joshua Deblasis, 41, of Parma, was arrested and charged with trafficking in persons for commercial sex acts, a felony. He was booked into the Lorain County Jail then later released. A 43-year-old woman, a Lorain County native, was rescued after being trafficking in an illegal sex-for-hire operation in Las Vegas. Brought back to Lorain County to do sex-for-hire work, she was found at a local hotel and provided with humanitarian and legal services, the Sheriff's Office said. Sheriff Jack Hall praised investigators and the agencies involved in a news release, saying that "being able to reunite victims of these horrific crimes with their families and lives prior to being trafficked is the most significant accomplishment of these investigations." One of the men arrested made news 12 years ago after a teenage girl accused him of groping her when he was her driving instructor. Brent Mitchell, 78, of Old West Ridge Road, was among 84 so-called "johns" who were arrested and charged with engaging in prostitution or solicitation of prostitution when they tried to pay for sex. He was booked May 16 into the Lorain County Jail on a charge of solicitation, a misdemeanor, posted bond and was released the same day. Mitchell pleaded not guilty at his arraignment May 18 in Avon Lake Municipal Court. His next court appearance is June 23 in front of Judge Allison Manning. It isn't the first time Mitchell has faced allegations of illegal sexual conduct. Mitchell was charged with sexual imposition in Oberlin Municipal Court in 2014 after he was accused of inappropriately touching a 16-year-old student driver. He was 66 and an instructor for Norwalk Driving School at the time. At the time, the Sheriff's Office said Mitchell picked the girl up from her home for a session on Oct. 2, 2014 and touched her in a sexual manner. The charge was amended in Oberlin Municipal Court from sexual imposition to attempted assault, a lower level misdemeanor, in March 2015, after prosecutors consulted the victim and her family. Mitchell pleaded no contest to the amended charge, was found guilty and sentenced to 45 days in jail, $500 in fines and five years' probation. Also arrested in Lorain County on misdemeanor charges of engaging in prostitution, soliciting prostitution or procuring or using premises for prostitution during the operation that nabbed Mitchell were: Jeffrey Buckhannon, 63, of Huron Vincent DiGennaro, 61, of Strongsville Bo Dunigan, 37, of Parma Forest Gullet, 52, of Lorain Matthew Hoke, 42, of Tiffin Luke Ilersich, 46, of Cleveland Lavar Kittelberger, 46, of Avon Veli Lavikka, 78, of Rocky River Shamar Lucky, 27, of Elyria Ronald Morgan, 38, of Cleveland Terry Paugh, 56, of North Olmsted They were charged, booked into the Lorain County Jail, then released on bond pending future court dates. Other Lorain County residents arrested by authorities during Operation Spring Cleaning were Brandon Smith, 53, of North Ridgeville, and Norman White, 55, of Elyria. It was not immediately clear where they were charged or what their charges were. Anyone with information on suspected human trafficking or suspicious activity in Huron, Erie, Ashland, or Lorain counties is asked to call the HEAL Human Trafficking Task Force at (440) 284-0615.Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.