 California: Berkeley couple accused of flying teen girl from Texas to Oakland for sex trafficking – A couple who pled not guilty to sex trafficking a 22-year-old and a 17-year-old and were awaiting a preliminary hearing have been arrested for sex trafficking another 17-year-old girl they brought from Texas after police found evidence of a third victim on their phones. After locating the victim she said she was hit by the couple if she tried to refuse but was eventually able to escape.Florida: Duo arrested for fraudulent crime sprees, while one under human trafficking warrant – A man with a warrant for a human trafficking charge in Texas was arrested in Florida for attempting to defraud a pawn shop.Nebraska: Ex-Nebraska teacher faces charges of human trafficking, enticing a minor – A former teacher in Nebraska has been arrested and charged with enticement of a minor and attempted human trafficking in connection with requesting commercial sex from a 14-year-old. Local charges were dropped so the case could be pursued at the federal level. Texas: Report: Abilene restaurant owner accused of human trafficking, forcing immigrant to work for free – The owner of “Fun Noodle Bar” has been accused of labor trafficking a man from Honduras who was smuggled into the USA and stored in a safe house. His smuggler then drove him to the Texas restaurant and sold him for “a stack of cash” to the owner. He was told he needed to work 6 months to pay off his debt and would receive $2,000 per month and have his food and shelter covered. Instead, his passport was taken by the owner; he was forced to work 10-12 hours every day, received no pay, and had to eat scraps from customers because he was not fed. He was beaten by the owner when he requested his first payment. Washington: Seattle cops: Woman makes harrowing escape from vicious pimp. A sex trafficking victim in Seattle leapt from a three-story building and ran with multiple broken bones to escape her violent sex trafficker. An Uber driver picked up the mostly unclothed victim on the highway and engaged in a gun battle with her pursuing sex trafficker. She and two other victims were located, and the trafficker was arrested California: GirlsDoPorn videographer sentenced to 4 years in prison for sex trafficking – The videographer for the GirlsDoPorn sex trafficking ring was sentenced to 4-years-in prison for helping coerce hundreds of victims, lying to them and saying the footage would not be posted to the internet.Iowa: Iowa City man sentenced to federal prison for human trafficking charges – A man has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for sex trafficking multiple young women.Michigan: Detroit man sentenced to prison after sex trafficking 2 teens at Romulus hotel – A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for sex trafficking a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old. Missouri: Kansas City man sentenced to 18 years for sex trafficking 14, 16-year-old teens – A 28-year-old man who trafficked two young minors was sentenced to 18 year in prison and 20 years supervised release.Montana: Billings man gets life sentence for sex trafficking women, including minors – A 52-year-old man with a long history of sexual assaults has been sentenced to life in prison for sex trafficking two adult women (one of whom was homeless), and kidnapping two minor girls who were sexually assaulted and then trafficked. One of the minor victims was a tribal member of Crow Nation. He also dealt cocaine and methamphetimine, using the drugs as well as threats and violence to control his victims. Rhode Island: Rhode Island Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking – A 48-year-old man pled guilty to four counts of sex trafficking that stemmed from 9 years of sexually exploiting 5 women across 7 states. “To maintain control, Hall subjected his victims to starvation, regular threats of injury, physical abuse, forced intercourse, violent assaults with weapons including knives, belts and bats and made some of the victims brand themselves with a tattoo of his nickname.”Nebraska: Man receives life in prison for sex trafficking of minor case that stretched from Omaha to South Dakota – A 41-year-old man who was the ring-leader in a sex trafficking ring with 3 minor victims has been sentenced to life in prison. An adult woman, potentially another victim, was sentenced to 20 years. Alabama: 6 people arrested after undercover human trafficking operation in West Alabama – The West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force arrested 6 men on 12 felony charges. All but one of the men believed they were meeting a minor.California: Sheriff’s office makes 10 arrests in anti-demand operation, helps six victims – The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office identified six potential victims and arrested ten men, some of whom were arrested for attempting to buy commercial sex.Georgia: Carr: Gwinnett County Man Convicted of Human Trafficking in Unit’s First Undercover Chat Case – Georgia has successfully convicted its first undercover chat case where a man solicited someone he thought was a 14-year-old for commercial sex. Louisiana: Louisiana children forced to bake, sell brownies as stepfather abused them physically, sexually – A Louisiana stepfather who both sex and labor trafficked his three step-children for three years, regularly pulling them out of school to bake and sell brownies and provide commercial sex. He abused the children physically and sexually, withheld food, waterboarded them, used stressful/painful positions, threatened and verbally abused the children to maintain control. He pled guilty and has been sentenced to 35 years in prison and to pay $700,000 in restitution.Ohio: Southeastern Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force charges six people over weekend -Six men were arrested for attempting to buy commercial sex, including a high school girls’ basketball coach, and a registered sex offender with a history of sexual crimes against children. The sex offender tried to buy sex from a minor..Massachusetts: Tufts Medical Center Doctor Arrested in Child Sex Trafficking Bust, Feds Say – A pediatric anesthesiologist at a Boston hospital attempted to buy commercial sex with a minor.Minnesota: Ex-Savage middle school principal sentenced for trying to hire girl in police sex sting – A middle-school principal who attempted to purchase sex from an undercover officer he believed to be a 15-year-old has been sentenced to 30 days in the county workhouse and three years of probation. He was fired after his arrest.South Dakota: Black Hawk man found guilty of sex crimes in undercover sex trafficking operation – A man who attempted to buy commercial sex from an undercover officer he believed to be a minor has been convicted of “Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet, and Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography.”Texas: Temple man indicted in prostitution sting – A man has been arrested for attempting to buy commercial sex from someone he believed to be 16 years old.Texas: APD: Multiple arrests made in prostitution/human trafficking operation – Amarillo Police Department arrested five men attempting to buy commercial sex.Virginia: 8 men arrested in Henrico sex trafficking operation – Six men were arrested for attempting to buy commercial sex, and two men were charged with commercial sex trafficking for trying to recruit the undercover officers into their operations.  Global: Global Spotlight on Labor Trafficking in Health Care and Corporate Supply Chains – An in-depth report on labor trafficking in supply chains and healthcare.Global: US contractors that commit human trafficking must no longer slip through the cracks – After disturbing reports of regular labor trafficking on US military bases by contractors and a lack of accountability, advocates are calling for better enforcement and transparency.Washington: Temporary Farmworkers Hit Orchard Co. With Fifth Complaint – A Washington agricultural firm has received another labor complaint based on labor abuses, claiming to represent over 1,000 victims.  CLICK HERE TO DONATE >> New York: Prostitution Bust Nets Seven Arrests At Hotels In This Hudson County Town – Six women were arrested at a hotel and charged with prostitution and/or promoting prostitution, the headline mentions a seventh arrest but no details are provided. There is no indication any of these women were treated as potential victims or that police considered human trafficking as a potential concern.New York: Hicksville massage parlor busted – A woman has been charged with prostitution at an IMB, there is no indication police investigated the situation as a possible human trafficking situation.West Virginia: West Virginia police sending multiple human trafficking victims home – Multiple IMBs in West Virginia and Ohio have been raided, resulting in the arrest of one ring leader and the identification of multiple human trafficking victims. Unfortunately, some potential victims were still charged with prostitution.  US: Promise of a job, duped into the sex trade. How Asian women fall into trap of trafficking – A discussion of how Asian women are frequently targeted and trafficked in illicit massage businesses, often coming through Flushing, New York, and then moved throughout the country.US: Applications open for funding meant to help victims of human trafficking – A pool of $2.5 million in grant funding for organizations that offer services to survivors of human trafficking is open for applications; applications will be accepted until 5 PM on November 23.US: For Sex Traffickers, Jack Dorsey’s Cash App Is ‘King’ – An in-depth examination of why Cash App is frequently used by sex traffickers.US: Letters to the Editor: How misogynistic prosecutions play into sex traffickers’ hands – Collective Liberty’s CEO Rochelle Keyhan submitted a letter to the editor discussing how traffickers use victims as scapegoats for their own crimes.US: How a viral teen app became the center of a sex trafficking hoax – An app created for teens to give each other anonymous compliments has been falsely accused of being used as a recruitment tool by traffickers.Florida: Murdered Orlando teen involved in human trafficking case was pregnant, deputies say – A 15-year-old victim who ran away from a DCF office and was cooperating on a human trafficking victim was pregnant when she was found murdered two months later. An investigation into her death is ongoing.Oklahoma: DOJ sends $1.3 million to help fight human trafficking in northeast Oklahoma– Oklahoma Coalition Against Human Trafficking (OCAT) has expanded its scope to support adult victims and labor trafficking victims and received a large federal grant. JOIN US >> |
We monitor and fact-check media coverage of human trafficking and share the top cases with you from each week. A broad view of what is happening across the country can be translated into action, allowing us to collectively change the system and the public narrative. 