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The Trafficking Radar Report is a news hub that exists to bring awareness to reports of sex trafficking in the United States. We believe that ending the demand for human trafficking begins with awareness. These stories and reports are aggregated from reputable news outlets across the nation which are collected here to browse by category and/or location.
TAMPA — Detectives arrested seven people, seized $750,000 in cash and luxury vehicles, and broke up a prostitution ring operating from at least 12 local massage parlors, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said.
Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) Board of Trustees has formally proclaimed the college a Trafficking Free Zone. The board officially approved a resolution at its May meeting, in support of the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking (USIAHT) Trafficking Free Zones program.
EICC asks the citizens of its Clinton, Jackson, Muscatine, Scott, Cedar, Dubuque, Johnson and Louisa County service area to join in learning more about human trafficking and eliminating it in all its forms.
We need your help to ensure that the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF) places male victims of sex trafficking under the age of 18 at USIAHT’s Florida Safe Home.
Florida DCF identified 376 male youth victims between 2017-2019, while USIAHT’s Florida safe home provided care for only 19 victims during that period.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Twenty-two suspects were arrested after multiple law enforcement agencies in Tampa Bay teamed up to crack down on human trafficking.
Undercover detectives set up at an undisclosed motel and responded to online ads for commercial sex that had human trafficking indicators. When those responding to the ads showed up to the motel to engage in prostitution, they were screened to see if they were potential human trafficking victims.
Internet-savvy pimps are using social media to recruit young girls who have been left dislocated or economically vulnerable by the pandemic, according to a New York City detective.
Lt. Amy Caponga of the New York Police Department (NYPD) sex trafficking team says messaging apps are often used to control the girls’ movements once they’ve been trafficked and mobile payment services like Venmo exploited to get the money.
One impact of their broadening operations since the onset of COVID-19: some hotels and motels in the New York City area, once filled with tourists, have become sites for prostitution, Lt. Caponga told a recent webinar organized by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
A woman has been charged with trafficking multiple victims for sex through Crystal’s Day Spa in Revere, an alleged front for human trafficking, the attorney general said.
Geralda De Matos Garland, 57, of Revere, was arrested on Friday and charged with trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, deriving support from prostitution, money laundering and conspiracy, the Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday.
Human trafficking can be an invisible crime, but it’s happening right here in North Carolina. Stopping it will require a joint effort between individuals and organizations throughout the community. It’s often the people who don’t think they’re in a position to help who can make the greatest difference. Collaboration between individuals and community organizations is essential to increasing awareness, spotting trafficking, and improving services for victims.
Predators from North and South Carolina traveled to York County looking for sex with children as young as 10, deputies said Monday. Deputies said 10 people were arrested in “Operation Home Alone,” which was underway from March 10-14. The operation took place at several different spots, including an abandoned home in Fort Mill, South Carolina, deputies said.
“Seven of the 10 arrestees, dubbed as travelers, actually came to the residence or attempted to come to the residence of the operation,” deputies said. “The ages of the children they thought they were coming to have sex with were 10 to 17 years old.”
York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson described the web as having “holes” and “crannies” that can be used for people to prey on children.
Chris Bates was 16 years old when he started selling nude photos of himself on the internet to adult men who pressured him for more and more images.
The demands snowballed into riskier requests, and within months the gay Connecticut teen was trading sex for dinners out, designer sneakers and other luxuries.
Bates says he was lured by the attention and what appeared to be easy money. He secretly hoped his financially struggling single mother, or anybody, would notice what was happening and protect him.
No one did — and within two years, the tall, lanky youth was living alone in a dilapidated apartment, prostituting himself to get by. His home — and an array of hotel rooms in Connecticut and Massachusetts — became a “revolving door” of sex buyers.
“I really thought I was the bad person selling myself,’’ said Bates, now 26 and living in Worcester. “I didn’t realize that I was a victim.”
Human trafficking has become a major problem around the world, but students at one Georgia middle school are developing a plan to help combat the issue.
Tucker Middle School was named a semifinalist in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest, which encourages students to solve real-world issues using STEM. The idea is that the device can be installed like a fire alarm in airplane bathrooms that triggers a silent alarm to alert flight attendants, pilots, and the authorities.
The device will also release an adhesive for the victim to wear so that they can be tracked after getting off the plane.
HOUSTON – A 26-year-old Houston man has been ordered to prison following his convictions of sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy to do so, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Trevien Thomas aka Triggah pleaded guilty Jan. 6.
Today, U.S. District Judge Nancy F. Atlas handed Thomas a 300-month sentence. At the hearing, the court heard a statement from the victim’s mother and sister as well as letters from the victim and others detailing the emotional, physical and financial impact of what Thomas did.
On Thursday, Fayetteville police arrested nine people at the hotel. They charged eight of them with prostitution and one person with pimping.
“The hotels were very cooperative with providing us assistance,” Myers explained. Officers selected the hotels at random.
Elsewhere in the county, Peachtree City police conducted a sting of their own. Officers arrested 12 people at a hotel, charging nine of them with prostitution and three people with pimping.
In February 2020, Vestavia Hills police were able to rescue four children from trafficking and arrest the man suspected of trafficking them.
Capt. Johnny Evans with the Vestavia Hills Police Department said without the training they received as part of being named a “Human TraffickingFree Zone” in November 2019, they might not have been able to spot what was happening.
As the city continues to train its employees on how to spot and prevent human trafficking, the Police Department is seeing success in cracking down on these cases.
“Our officers now, when they’re dealing with people, know to look for certain things,” Evans said. “We’ve really been able to notice more of the signs.”
Becoming a “Human TraffickingFree Zone” is part of the Child Trafficking Solutions Project, formed in response to the passage of the state’s Safe Harbor Act, created by former state Rep. Jack Williams from Vestavia Hills.
Finding new and innovative ways to combat the demand for purchased sex, raise awareness to this nationwide epidemic, and provide safe environments for victims.
