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Even though Jed York is from the Northeast Ohio city of Youngstown, it’s pretty clear the 49ers owner didn’t know about the East Palestine police officer who famously uses York’s hometown to catch people in prostitution sting operations. York was arrested on Sunday in the Ohio village that sits near the Pennsylvania border. He pleaded no contest to charges of disorderly conduct and possession of criminal tools, and he was ordered to pay $1,150 in fines and sentenced to serve one day in jail for each charge, which were served concurrently. Advertisement Article continues below this ad When York allegedly responded to an online sex advertisement, according to multiple reports, he didn’t realize he was falling for one of the oldest law enforcement tricks in the book: a fake ad set up by the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force. In a 2024 story on the task force, the Ohio Attorney General’s office spotlighted East Palestine police detective Dan Haueter’s work using online advertisements to catch people in prostitution stings in rather graphic language. “Catching rats and other vermin starts with using the right bait, and when Detective Dan Haueter sets the trap, they come scurrying out of the shadows,” the 2024 newsletter reads. The story later describes the people Haueter catches as “especially repugnant creatures” and noted the suspect is “always a guy.” Columbiana County, where East Palestine is located and York was arrested, accounted for more than a third of what the Ohio Attorney General’s Office described as “sex-buyer arrests” in a report from earlier this year. Columbiana County’s 710 arrests are almost double second-place Franklin County’s 383 arrests — a number that stands out even more when considering Franklin County has about 1.37 million people, per population estimates, while Columbiana County has roughly 99,000. The report itself calls that data “disproportionate” and states why. “These concentrations reflect where human trafficking task forces operate, rather than the actual prevalence of sex buyers in a county,” the report reads. “The data reveals a pattern: Human trafficking task forces are an effective tool for identifying and apprehending sex buyers.” Advertisement Article continues below this ad It was that task force that nabbed York on Sunday, court records show. According to multiple news outlets that viewed the police affidavit, York allegedly responded to an online ad that he didn’t know was posted by the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force. As the Athletic detailed, York allegedly sent multiple texts on Saturday to a number that went unanswered and then sent another message on Sunday morning. An undercover officer and York negotiated a price of $160 and set the meeting in a mobile home park on the edge of East Palestine, the affidavit said. According to the Athletic, when York arrived, he looked for a lot that didn’t exist and was stopped by East Palestine police at the main road, who then texted the number used for the meeting and saw York’s phone light up. That led to York’s arrest and the seizure of the phone, plus the $160. Court records show he was initially arrested on suspicion of engaging in prostitution; he ended up pleading no contest to disorderly conduct. It isn’t clear if Haueter was the officer who arrested York. But the 2024 newsletter notes that while Haueter typically focuses his sting efforts on the felony crime of attempting to have sex with underage girls, Haueter “periodically” switches to advertisements for adults. While those are classified as misdemeanors in Ohio, the story notes the cases are “simpler and faster” in the court system. Advertisement Article continues below this ad That certainly proved to be the case with York on Monday, when the world found out about the arrest around the same time as the case was closed with a plea deal and sentencing. York also agreed to forfeit the $160 that was seized by the task force. But in one final development on Monday, York’s lawyers filed a motion to have the record sealed, court records show. That motion was swiftly denied on Monday afternoon. — 49ers owner Jed York filed for divorce months before arrest — ESPN story says 49ers stopped Shanahan from releasing crash report — The Nick Bosa-Ryan Clark beef, from a MAGA hat to a single emoji — The dark, fascinating life of Christian McCaffrey's grandfather For all of our Bay Area sports coverage, sign up for The Catch newsletter here.