Arrest affidavit reveals details after Dallas police officer busted in undercover prostitution sting

DALLAS - A longtime Dallas Police Department officer has been placed on administrative leave following his arrest Monday afternoon during an undercover prostitution suppression operation, authorities confirmed.

Dallas officer arrested

What we know:

Senior Corporal Zachary Helm, a 20-year veteran of the department, faces a state jail felony charge of solicitation of prostitution.

According to an arrest affidavit, the bust happened around 1:30 p.m. at the La Quinta Inn and Suites located at 2421 Walnut Hill Lane. The sting was conducted by the Dallas Police Department’s Special Investigations Division Human Trafficking Unit alongside federal partners to target the commercial sex market.

The affidavit states that an undercover Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent received a phone call from Helm responding to a decoy commercial advertisement posted on a website known to facilitate human trafficking. During the recorded conversation, Helm allegedly agreed to pay $140 to engage in sexual acts.

Investigators said Helm demonstrated intent to complete the agreement by driving to the hotel. When he arrived and knocked on the designated hotel room door, he was immediately detained by waiting detectives. Officers confirmed his identity through his Texas driver's license and verified his phone received a confirmation call from the undercover agent's number.

Helm has been employed with the Dallas Police Department since 2006 and was assigned to the very division that spearheaded the operation—the Special Investigations Division.

Following his arrest, Helm was booked into the Dallas County Jail. Records show he bonded out of custody late Monday night. The department has placed him on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation.

What they're saying:

Tanya Stafford runs an anti-human trafficking nonprofit called It's Going to Be O.K. 

She believes Helm was bold and felt comfortable going to the hotel for $140 of services.

"So he's felt comfortable. He's been doing this. He just got caught. It's all about when you get caught. So just imagine. Like I said, how many times has he done this?" she asked.

Big picture view:

Stafford been working with the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee because prostitution and trafficking tend to ramp up around major events. Stafford's work usually involves victim intervention. Her organization was one of 20 to receive a portion of $300,000 in grant money from the Communities Foundation of North Texas to combat trafficking around the World Cup.

"We're taking trafficking in our city, in our town, very seriously," she said.

FOX 4 last spoke with Stafford in April about a different Dallas police officer – Sr. Cpl. Joshua Gonzalez – who was allegedly evading arrest after soliciting prostitutes.

Now, with another senior corporal arrested, she's reminded that in the line of work she's fighting, no suspect is surprising.

"Just imagine all the victims that have come through his workforce, his station," she said.

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