The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced on Friday that authorities had arrested 32 men in a Knoxville human trafficking operation. Among those arrested was Jason Kennedy the pastor of a children’s ministry. He has since been fired from his job at the Grace Baptist church in Karns and is charged with human trafficking and patronizing prostitution. Zubin Parakh, a volunteer creative pastor at the Lifehouse Church in Oak Ridge was also arrested. RT reports: Kennedy, 46, and Parakh, 32, were caught in a three-day operation in which undercover agents posted ads on Backpage.com, a common site for escorts. Kennedy and Parakh were both charged with trafficking after specifically seeking out sex with an underage girl, according to KGW. Kennedy is facing a Class A trafficking charge and, if found guilty, could spend between 15 and 60 years behind bars and have to pay a $50,000 fine. He is currently in a county jail with bond set at $50,500. According to WLTV, Kennedy responded via text to an ad placed by an undercover agent. He then received a text back in which he was made aware that two underage girls would be present. He haggled with the agents and finally agreed on a [...]
