MACEDONIA, Ohio — “A lawyer should know better -- don’t buy sex in Ohio.”
That’s the message from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost as he announced Monday that 72-year-old Kenneth Martin -- who is identified as a defense lawyer from Macedonia -- is among two people facing charges following a sex sting by the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force.
“It’s sometimes the people you’d least expect who drive the demand for human trafficking,” Yost said in a press release.
Yost’s office says Martin allegedly agreed to pay $180 for sex on Feb. 22 after responding to an advertisement posted by undercover agents on a site associated with human trafficking.
“He later arrived at an agreed-upon location, allegedly with money in hand,” according to the press release.
Martin has been charged with engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools.
The day prior, the task force also charged 31-year-old Coty Salman of Youngstown with engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools.
“He, too, allegedly responded to a fictitious online ad and agreed to pay $140 for sex before traveling to a meeting location, where task force agents were waiting,” according to Yost’s office.
Both men received summons in Columbiana County Municipal Court.