By: Kyla Wetmore and Asher LeVos
Last August, a mugshot of 28-year-old Emerald House was posted along with 10 others on the Collegedale Police Department’s (CPD) Facebook page, under the headline of “Joint FBI-Collegedale Operation Leads to 11 Human Trafficking Arrests.”
House described how she felt as she read through the negative comments under the post during a recent interview with the Accent.
“I started crying and thinking, ‘How could they just put me with people that I don’t even know, and put me with a bunch of pedophiles?’” House said, referring to the police department’s post on social media. “Like, I’m not the type of person.”
The post with the mugshots referenced a human trafficking sting operation conducted by local, state and federal law enforcement in Collegedale. Eleven individuals were arrested, including House, who was charged for patronizing prostitution. Those arrested had no established connection to one another, despite a misunderstanding among some in the general population that they were part of a human trafficking ring.
Of the 11 arrestees, only House and two others were not charged with solicitation of a minor. According to the incident report filed by the CPD, House contacted an undercover police officer through an online post. After negotiating a price to engage in sex acts, House met the officer at a hotel and was subsequently arrested.
In an interview from the day of the arrest—obtained by the Accent through a CPD public records request—House claimed she faced misgivings when initially meeting with the officer.
“He gave me a really creepy vibe,” she said. “I was scared I was going to die.”
House said that she set down the money the undercover officer gave her as payment and wanted to leave the hotel, but officers rushed into the room to detain and question her.
Under TN Code § 39-13-514 (2024), patronizing prostitution is labeled as a criminal offense, regardless of whether the parties involved engaged in the conduct solicited.
Originally, House was booked for patronizing prostitution, a class A misdemeanor in the state of Tennessee. However, on Nov. 19, she pleaded guilty to attempted patronizing prostitution and was represented by a court-appointed lawyer, Kevin Loper. By reducing the charge to an “attempt,” it became a class B misdemeanor on her record, said the late Judge Kevin Wilson at her trial. A class B misdemeanor can be sentenced up to six months in jail and no more than a $500 fine, but House was only required to pay a $50 fine with no jail time, dependent on good behavior.
Public Reaction
The CPD’s post announcing the arrests of House and the other arrestees garnered a significant number of comments, reactions and shares. Over 120 comments flooded the CPD Facebook page, each with its own varying take on the sting.
One user showed a lack of understanding in the sting operation, suggesting that the defendants might be connected.
“Okay, but what [if the] 3 individuals were the ones actually in charge of exploiting [and] 8 were attempting and just got caught up in it,” the user posted. “Or were none of them in charge?”
Another user addressed confusion caused by the wording in the CPD’s post.
“When the word ‘human trafficking’ is used in the headline, it makes it sound like you busted a ring of people that are abducting people and then selling them,” the user stated. “What really took place here from the listed charges… [was] a prostitution sting and busting people with a bait prostitute. Which is great, I appreciate your work, but you’re making [it] sound like something more than it is.”
Others expressed disgust toward the arrestees.
“So glad these despicable perverts are off the streets,” a user stated. “Lock them up and throw away the key!”
Some comments escalated to more threatening language.
“Fire up the woodchipper,” read one comment.
“Dead sex offenders don’t reoffend,” stated another.
House said the post and comments have seriously impacted her life.
“I’ve been getting death threats,” she said. “People think I’m kidnapping kids.”
Police Response
In response to questions concerning the CPD’s posting of the information, Assistant Chief of Police Jamie Heath explained that because the CPD is a government organization, everything it does is public record, including active investigations. Additionally, Heath noted that the CPD has a responsibility to maintain the city’s public safety.
“While we don’t publish every mugshot of every arrest that is made by our officers, we do post the information for any incident that we feel might be necessary to the maintenance of continued public safety,” he stated in an email to the Accent. “Human Trafficking operations, like the two our agency worked [on] in 2025, are considered of high importance at local, state and federal levels.”
According to Heath, CPD leadership is dedicated to transparency and has abided by transparency standards for several years. As of 2021, important news pertaining to the public is available in CPD reports, he explained.
“We will continue to uphold our commitment [to] transparency to our citizens,” Heath stated.
While people can empathize with individuals in difficult circumstances, such as House, Heath believes it’s important to consider personal responsibility.
“If you’re worried about personal safety, then avoiding situations and circumstances where your safety can be compromised would likely be the wiser course of conduct,” he stated in response to House’s safety concerns. “When you go out of your way to commit a crime and place yourself in a bad situation, as Ms. House’s most recent arrest report alleges, there are going to be consequences.”
Criminal Record
House did not have a clean record before her sentencing in November. According to details she provided in interviews and information found in a Hamilton County case search, she pled guilty to domestic assault occurring on Oct. 15, 2015, just a few days after her 18th birthday. At the time, she was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days in a county workhouse, but the sentence was suspended for good behavior.
House was also required to go to Parkridge Valley, a mental and behavioral healthcare facility, for assessment and care. She said she was in jail for 14 days before her sentence was suspended.
On Feb. 12, 2020, House went to court to face two more assault charges occurring in December 2019, according to the Hamilton County case search. Again, she received a judgment of 11 months and 29 days in the county workhouse, which was suspended for good behavior.
Before her judgment was suspended, House said she met a woman in the Silverdale Detention Center. The woman persuaded House to post provocative content online for money after they both were released from jail, according to her interview with the CPD. House said that the woman posted House in her content and took all of the money.
In a CPD interview obtained by the Accent, House said that from 2022 up until her arrest, she posted her own ads soliciting business on websites, after breaking ties with the woman she met in jail. She added that she tried to take the ads down a couple times but was unsuccessful.
Personal Struggles
House said she has repeatedly faced violence throughout her life and most recently was raped by someone she knew in July 2025.
After being arrested in the August 2025 human trafficking sting, House said she decided to drop the rape charges.
“I didn’t think that the judge would give me protection against the person and [I would] be able to file a rape charge on somebody after I got caught for prostitution,” House said, “because they’re going to sling it in a different way, like, ‘Oh, she wanted money and claimed rape’ or something.”
House said her circumstances are exacerbated by ongoing medical issues and unemployment. In December of 2024, she had a stroke, and in February 2025 she underwent heart surgery, she said in an interview with the Accent. She has also faced many mental health challenges, she said, but is unable to find care that her marketplace insurance will cover.
House said her health conditions were a major motivator to accept sex work.
“The reason why I was prostituting was because I had a stroke and just had heart surgery for a PFO closure, and I wasn’t able to work for six [to] seven months,” she said. “So, in order for me to make money, pay my car, pay all this stuff that I had to pay, I had to make money some kind of way.”
House said she tried many methods to find a job in the months since her conviction.
“I’ve called staffing companies,” she said. “I’ve applied [to] multiple places. They don’t want to hire me due to my background.”
She said the health issues prevented her from working, and she has been unable to find a job since.
“Nobody wants to hire me because I can’t lift anything,” House explained. However, she reiterated her desire to find employment. In her sentencing on Nov. 19, Judge Wilson asked if she had any questions, and she only had one.
“Can somebody recommend me for a job?”
Effects of Public Misunderstanding
House said the public’s reaction to her most recent conviction has contributed to serious mental health problems.
“[With] people threatening my life and telling me to kill myself, ever since then, I’ve had two [suicide] attempts,” she said in late February. “I was recently unresponsive. I took a bunch of pills, and I was put in the hospital.”
House said the implications of her arrest and public response to it made her want out from under the circumstances that she is currently experiencing.
“I don’t want to be here anymore, since I’ve been arrested for that type of charge, because everybody looks at me crazy,” she said. “I get nothing but judgment… The jobs are afraid I’m going to solicit their clients. I can’t go anywhere without somebody knowing my face from being arrested.”
Since her mugshot was posted online and tied to the human trafficking sting, House said, she has felt socially ostracized. She described being scared to go outside and driving out of the city she lives in to get gas. She said she now faces severe anxiety in public because she believes people misunderstand the nature of her arrest.
“Every time somebody mentions my name, it has to do with me kidnapping people, and I didn’t kidnap anybody,” she said. “I try to explain to them that sex trafficking is labeled as prostitution now, because a lot of sex traffickers prostitute the women, but it’s not that in my case.”
Systemic Issues and Solutions
Deana Lane, a coordinated community response specialist at the Family Justice Center, said many women involved in situations such as House’s are themselves the victims of sex trafficking.
“The trauma was often deeply rooted and complex, impacting brain function, behavior, and decision-making, and frequently compounded by societal judgment,” Lane stated. “Many individuals living under this level of duress also have negative involvement with the legal/judicial system, which can make stability and self-sufficiency feel unattainable from their perspective.”
Lane emphasized the importance of effective and supportive frameworks to bring about change in these cases.
“I have seen significant change occur when hope is introduced in a tangible and intentional way, through structured planning, consistent support and clear pathways forward,” she stated. “When hope is paired with practical resources and support, it can become a catalyst for stability, healing and long-term positive outcomes.”
According to Inza Hagan-Dyer, executive director of Love’s Arm Outreach Ministry, individuals with a history of exploitation and abuse often go on to face other traumatic experiences, including encounters with the law and continued physical and mental health issues. Hagan-Dyer believes care and intervention are key to altering the cycle.
“There are lots of opportunities to receive trauma-informed care, which is so important for recovery and healing and to help that person get their dignity back,” Hagan-Dyer said.
According to Hagan-Dyer, scenarios like House’s are very common within their organization.
“I would say that over 90% of the survivors that we assist have similar stories,” Hagan-Dyer said. “We have learned that the question to ask is, ‘What happened to you?’ as opposed to ‘Why did you do this?’, or ‘Why did this happen?’”
Hagan-Dyer emphasized the necessity of looking past labels.
“So many women are stigmatized and ostracized because they have the label of prostitute, sex worker or criminal,” Hagan-Dyer said. “So we don’t see any of that; we see an individual who is beautiful, who is loved and who has a lot to offer.”
House’s Future
In an interview with the Accent at her sentencing, House said her latest arrest was a major turning point in her life.
“When I got arrested, I said, ‘Thank you,’” House said. “I’ve been waiting for something to happen because I asked God to change my ways.”
House said law enforcement seemed confused that she was grateful for being arrested but hadn’t chosen to stop prostitution for herself.
“It’s like telling a drug addict to stop doing drugs, even though they’re addicted,” she said she told them. “The fast money is what it was.”
House now lives with her mother and stays home, except for when she goes to Narcotics Anonymous meetings. When asked what she wants people to understand about her, she said that she wishes people could see all of the factors that contributed to her decisions.
“I just wish that people would stop trying to judge me,” she said. “… Never judge the cover of a book before you open and read it and get to know somebody.”
