UPDATE: All charges against Myron Pope have been dropped.

Myron Pope, the former Vice President of Student Life at the University of Alabama, resigned on Friday after being arrested on charges of soliciting prostitution.

Pope was among 15 people arrested on Thursday and Friday night by the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force as part of a sting operation.

The arrests came after the 15 men agreed to pay for sex via an online app and met with an undercover agent of the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force at an undisclosed location that had been previously agreed upon.

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Announcing the arrest, task force commander Captain Phil Simpson said, “If buyers were not seeking commercial sexual services, sex trafficking would no longer be profitable. We hope these operations targeting buyers show that we take this very seriously. Our goal is to prevent future exploitation of human trafficking victims who are forced or coerced into prostitution.”

Pope resigned after the news of the arrests was made public.

“I have difficult news to share today. Vice President of Student Life Myron Pope has resigned from the University following his recent arrest,” said University of Alabama President Stuart R Bell, announcing Pope’s resignation on campus on Friday.

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“We understand this news will be difficult for our community. I will appoint an interim Vice President of Student Life and that person, along with the many professionals in the division, will remain available to all of us. Please continue to take care of yourselves and one another,” Bell added.

Pope had been appointed as the Vice President of Student Life at the University of Alabama in February 2020, prior to which he served as a member of the administrative staff at the university. He was the director of recruitment programs/alternative certification between 1997 and 2000, and also served a a clinical assistant professor in the higher education administrative program.