Football coach, hospital official named in arrests of 46 men in North Texas sex trafficking

A Flower Mound Marcus High School assistant football coach resigned after his arrest. A hospital official at Baylor Scott & White Health in North Texas is not employed there anymore. And information on an official with First Priority of America in Fort Worth is no longer on the religious organization’s website.

That is what has happened to three of 46 men recently arrested during a multi-agency operation targeting the demand for commercial sex in North Texas.

The men — a majority of whom are from North Texas — face charges of solicitation of prostitution after they were arrested on Jan. 12 and Jan. 13 in an operation focused on suppressing the demand for prostitution, according to local and federal law enforcement. The operation was spearheaded by the Department of Homeland Security as part of its Blue Campaign.

On Tuesday, Frisco police announced that 23 of the 46 men were arrested in their city. Undercover officers met with suspects at hotels in Frisco and Southlake.

Law enforcement personnel responded to online solicitations for prostitution an arranged meetings with the suspects at the hotels with the coordination and cooperation of hotel management and staff, Frisco police said.

Once they arrived, the suspects in Frisco were taken into custody without incident, interviewed by detectives and taken to the Collin County Jail in McKinney.

Many of the men taken into custody listed their hometowns as Carrollton, Irving, McKinney, Frisco, Plano, Flower Mound and Little Elm. One man listed his hometown as Aurora, Colorado, according to Frisco police.

“We appreciate the proactive effort and partnership with our Frisco hotels in helping to keep this kind of activity from coming to our city,” said Frisco Police Department Assistant Chief Darren Stevens in a news release. “With more than 6.4 million visitors a year attending events and conferences in Frisco, we will continue to take steps to show this type of online activity is not tolerated in Frisco.”

During the course of the operation and subsequent investigation, Frisco detectives found no evidence to substantiate rumors circulating about local underage trafficking

Jail records indicated that 19 of the 46 men arrested on Jan. 12 and Jan. 13 during the operation were booked into the Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth after being arrested at the Southlake hotel.

The men lived in cities such as Fort Worth, North Richland Hills, Watauga, Keller and Arlington, according to jail records. One man was from San Gabriel, California, and another from Broken Bow, Oklahoma.

One of those arrested was Cecil Timothy Morrison, a former teacher and assistant football coach at Flower Mound Marcus High School in the Lewisville school district.

Morrison joined the Lewisville school district in April 2018 and submitted his resignation on Jan. 18.

“Mr. Morrison was placed on administrative leave when the district became aware of his arrest and subsequently submitted his resignation to the district last week,” according to a statement released by Lewisville ISD officials. “This is a legal matter outside his role in our district, and we have no indication the circumstances surrounding his arrest involved students.”

Marcus Principal Will Skelton texted the following message to parents of students at the high school: “I think it is important to keep you informed about situations at Marcus High School, even if your student is not directly impacted. Last week assistant football coach Tim Morrison was placed on administrative leave and subsequently submitted his resignation to the district, after district officials became aware of his arrest.

Coach Morrison has not returned to campus since he was placed on leave, and we have no indication the situation surrounding his arrest involved Marcus students. It would be normal for our families and students to have questions, but because this is a legal matter outside his role in our district, we do not have specific details to share.

I understand this is difficult news for our students and our school community. Our focus will continue to be supporting our students through any impact they may experience due to Coach Morrison’s unexpected departure. I have communicated directly with the football program and families in Coach Morrison’s class to ensure they know we are here to support them.”

Tarrant County jail records identified LeMarcus Strickland of Keller as being arrested on Jan. 12. Strickland was listed as an area director in Fort Worth for First Priority of America. The group is a non profit organization supported entirely by the gifts of churches, businesses, individuals and foundations to educate, train and provide resources for Christian students to legally form clubs and share the gospel with other students on public school campuses, according to its website.

Officials with First Priority of America could not be reached for comment, and Strickland’s background information has been removed from the website.

Among those arrested in the sting in Frisco was 49-year-old Jim Hemmingway, of The Colony, who was the director of operations at Baylor Scott & White Health in North Texas. As of Wednesday, Hemmingway was no longer an employee of the health care system, according to an official with Baylor Scott & White Health.

In addition, Frisco police arrested 31-year-old Spencer Asuchak, a hockey player for the Allen Americans. His status on the team was not available on Wednesday.

Law enforcement agencies participating in the operation included the Arlington Police Department, Colleyville Police Department, Collin County Sheriff’s Office, Dallas Police Department, Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, Dallas County District Attorney’s Office investigators, Flower Mound Police Department, Frisco Police Department, Irving Police Department, Midlothian Police Department, and the Tarrant County Human Trafficking Task Force.

“Thwarting sex trafficking is one of our agency’s top priorities, one that every law enforcement office that has a role on the HSI Dallas-led North Texas Trafficking Task Force takes very seriously,” said Lester R. Hayes Jr., HSI Dallas special agent in charge., in a Friday news release. “By targeting those involved in this crime, we hope to disrupt this activity and provide assistance to human trafficking victims by getting them connected to the advocates and resources they need.”

Anyone who is or who knows a potential victim in this, or any other case of sex trafficking or human trafficking or has any information regarding this or any other investigation can contact Homeland Security Investigations toll-free tip line at 1-866-347-2423.