Sex trafficking investigation nets arrests in Sullivan County

Five people from three states were arrested in a joint human trafficking investigation involving Sullivan County officers, the TBI and a state task force.

On Wednesday and Thursday, agents conducted operations focusing on people purchasing commercial sex and those engaged in the sale of sex by trafficking others.

Maddox Carter, 19, of Johnson City, Jesse Long, 28, of Alice, Texas, Clarence Frye, 54, of Elizabethton, and Dennis Compston, 69 of Gate City were jailed on prostitution charges. A woman encountered during the investigation was taken into custody for outstanding warrants.