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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.
“Operation Patriot,” a collaborative human trafficking sting operation between 23 agencies, has resulted in 46 arrests and the rescue of five victims.
The arrests took place in two missions over a four-day span in September.
The first sting took place in Missouri City when undercover officers identified and arrested suspected human traffickers and sex buyers, commonly called “johns,” the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s office said. Officers also identified and rescued multiple victims.
A US man convicted of running a sex trafficking ring out of his elderly parents’ sprawling suburban home was sentenced today to nine and a half years in prison.
Raymond Rodio III, 49, was arrested in April 2019 and pleaded guilty in February this year to charges including sex trafficking and promoting prostitution.
After he completes his prison sentence, The Long Island man must register as a sex offender and spend five years under court supervision.
“This defendant had a sex dungeon in his parents’ home and forced women into sex slavery,” Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini said.
LOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury today returned a superseding indictment that charges a San Gabriel Valley woman with sex trafficking five immigrant women by hiring them to work at massage parlors and forcing them to engage in commercial sex acts.
Mei Xing, 59, a.k.a. “Xing Mei,” “Anna,” and “Boss,” of San Gabriel, is charged with five counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion. Xing previously was indicted on June 12 on one count of sex trafficking, and today’s charging document adds four additional victims.
PALM DESERT – Thirteen suspects were arrested on prostitution charges during a 12-hour Solicitation of Prostitution operation in the city of Palm Desert. On 09/23/2020, members of the Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (RCAHT) with the assistance of the Palm Desert Special Enforcement Team (SET) and Palm Desert Business District Team (BDT), conducted the sex trafficking demand reduction operation from 11 AM until 11 PM.
Washington, DC- Congressman John Curtis (R-UT) and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (D-NY) released the following statements after introducing their bipartisan bill to renew authorization for the Public-Private Advisory Council to End Human Trafficking.
The council provides a direct line to federal government agencies that will streamline unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles by empowering nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations in the fight against human trafficking.
“Human trafficking is a terrible scourge and we must all work together to defeat it,” said Curtis. “Last Congress, the President signed my bill into law creating the Public-Private Partnership Advisory Council to End Human Trafficking which brought the Federal government and prevention and rehabilitation experts together. Organizations like Utah’s Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) have led the way in fighting human trafficking and offer invaluable expertise to the Council. To ensure the critical work of this advisory council continues, I’ve introduced the Human Trafficking Council Extension Act to reauthorize the Council and give its members additional time to meet and recommend best practices to help put an end to human trafficking.”
The Phoenix Police Department, in partnership with other Arizona authorities, on Friday announced 37 arrests in connection to human trafficking and sex crimes. Undercover police placed ads on websites commonly sought out by suspects seeking illegal sex acts with children as part of an investigation dubbed Operation Broken Hearts. The probe targeted “sexual predators engaged in child sex crimes and human trafficking,” Phoenix police wrote in a Friday Facebook post.
The Salvation Army is partnering with Catholic Charities to provide housing for victims of sex and human trafficking crimes.
The safe house is secure and not open to the public, but professionals provide meals, life-skill classes, and case management for the victims. The new grant gave Catholic Charities half a million dollars and a partnership with the Salvation Army which will allow them to house victims anywhere between 6-24 months.
Tampa, Fla. – Today, the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking (USIAHT) announced results from Project ReachOut to provide services to victims and potential victims of sex trafficking during Super Bowl LV week in Tampa.
Utilizing integrated online technologies to allow victims of trafficking and individuals at high risk of being trafficked, to reach local service providers, Project Reach Out distributed over 5,800 text messages resulting in 4,325 contacts with victims and potential victims.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office seized the opportunity and made a record number of arrests during the Super Bowl week, as well as the recovery of six individuals believed to be victims of human trafficking. Throughout the course of the investigation dubbed “Operation Game Over,” which started Monday, February 1, 2021 and ended Saturday, February 6, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested a total of 75 people who were seeking to either buy or sell sex.
Local governments also have backed efforts to prevent human trafficking and to raise public awareness about the issue, with county boards in Pasco and Hillsborough counties declaring January as human trafficking awareness month.
Natalie Kehn, director of outreach for the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking, works to cast a spotlight on the problem, to promote education and prevention efforts and to seek help for people who have been victimized by the crime.
The U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking would like to thank ABC News and Jackie Callaway for the opportunity to show the continued efforts we are doing with putting an end to human trafficking. The U. S. Institute Against Human Trafficking uses specialized software to find and reach victims virtually, said Natalie Kehn, director of operations for the organization, who runs its “Project Reach Out.” The institute uses the software to scrape tens of thousands of locally posted sex ads.
Legislators are taking aim at human trafficking this session with proposed laws that would help victims by making it easier to erase an arrest record and by requiring hotels and motels to stop offering hourly rates. HB 5557 proposed by Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, D-West Hartford, who heads the state’s Trafficking in Persons Council, would make it easier for victims to have a conviction erased if their crime is related to victimization due to human trafficking.
TAMPA (WFLA) – Super Bowls bring excitement, big personalities, and big money to town when the games are played. Experts on human trafficking say they also bring opportunities for the exploitation of vulnerable people.
“It can happen at any kind of big event where you are going to have a lot of men in one area away from their families,” said Micah Washinski with the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking.
Finding new and innovative ways to combat the demand for purchased sex, raise awareness to this nationwide epidemic, and provide safe environments for victims.
