Category: USDJ Human Trafficking

Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been sentenced to 24 years in federal prison for recruiting four children to engage in sex acts for money.

On multiple occasions in 2017, DARYL S. ARNOLD arranged for the four victims, all of whom were under 18 years old, to meet with individuals to engage in commercial sex acts in the Chicago area.  Arnold used websites such as Backpage to advertise the commercial sex acts and find customers.  Afterward, Arnold kept half of the proceeds.

Arnold, 48, pleaded guilty in 2022 to four counts of sex trafficking of a minor.  In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Jorge L. Alonso on Friday ordered Arnold to pay $136,700 in restitution to the victims.  The prison term will be followed by ten years of court-supervised release.

The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The Chicago Police Department provided valuable assistance.

Arnold’s arrest was part of Operation Cross Country XI, a nationwide law enforcement effort to combat underage human trafficking.

“Defendant’s tactic of grooming minors is extremely dangerous because of the ease with which it can be implemented,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles W. Mulaney argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “He ‘sold the dream’ with a false promise of independence and love.”

If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by calling 1-800-843-5678 or logging on to www.cybertipline.com.

Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

TOLEDO – Jeffrey Deitsch, 36, of St. Marys and later Spencerville, Ohio, was sentenced on February 1, 2024, to 210 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey J. Helmick, after he pleaded guilty to coercion and enticement of a minor and transportation of a minor across state lines for illicit sexual activity. Deitsch was also sentenced to 25 years of supervised release after he serves his prison term and ordered to pay a $200 special assessment and an additional assessment of $5,000 under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.

According to court documents, Deitsch met a 15-year-old Illinois girl online, drove from Ohio to Illinois less than a week later, and transported her back to Ohio where he engaged in illicit sexual activity with her. On June 25, 2020, Allen County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to a hotel in Lima after receiving a report that the Illinois runaway was staying there with Deitsch, who was more than twice her age. Sheriff’s Deputies located the victim who later advised that Deitsch had told her to tell anyone who asked that she was 18. Deitsch admitted to law enforcement that he knew the victim’s age before transporting her and engaging in the sex acts.

Deitsch had just been released from state prison the month before, after having served a prison term for abduction of a different female.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Lima, Ohio. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Tracey Tangeman and Angelita Cruz Bridges.

Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

WASHINGTON – Today, INTERPOL Washington announced the establishment of the Missing Person Unit (MPU), a new unit dedicated to leveraging the extensive INTERPOL network, cutting-edge technology, and specialized expertise to bolster efforts in locating missing individuals anywhere in the world.

“The launch of the MPU marks a significant stride towards enhancing global law enforcement cooperation, bringing closure to families, and ensuring justice for missing persons,” said INTERPOL Washington Director Michael A. Hughes. “By integrating the unit into our operational framework, we are reinforcing our commitment to working with countries all over the globe to build a safer world together.”

The MPU is a unit within INTERPOL Washington’s Global Police Services (GPS) Division and will use its resources, technology, and expertise to assist foreign and domestic law enforcement agencies and families in locating missing individuals. The unit will collaborate with INTERPOL’s global network of 196 member countries and partners to share information, coordinate efforts, and enhance cross-border cooperation in locating missing persons.

Using INTERPOL tools and the INTERPOL Washington team of experts in various fields, including law enforcement, the MPU will provide specialized support and guidance to domestic and foreign law enforcement agencies working on missing persons cases. MPU will also provide access to INTERPOL’s extensive databases, which contain DNA, unidentified bodies, fingerprints, facial recognition, and other information.

These INTERPOL tools include:

• Yellow Notices, which are INTERPOL alerts issued to help locate missing persons, often minors, or to help identify persons who are unable to identify themselves.
• Black Notices, which are an INTERPOL alert issued to seek information about unidentified bodies.
• INTERPOL’s I-Familia service, which provides the necessary international mechanism to allow missing persons DNA data to be compared globally.

MPU’s establishment reflects INTERPOL Washington’s continuing proactive approach to addressing missing persons cases and emphasizes the agency’s dedication to bolstering global law enforcement cooperation.

A component of the U.S. Department of Justice co-managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, INTERPOL Washington—the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB)—is the designated U.S. representative to INTERPOL. It serves as the national point of contact and coordination for all INTERPOL matters, coordinating international investigative efforts among member countries and the more than 18,000 local, state, federal, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies.

Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been sentenced to nearly 24 years in federal prison for recruiting two children to travel to Chicago from Indiana to engage in sex acts for money.

A jury in 2022 convicted KENNEDY SPENCER, 55, of Chicago, on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.  U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey imposed the sentence on Jan. 25, 2024, during a hearing in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  Valuable assistance in the investigation was provided by the Tinley Park, Ill. Police Department and the FBI Resident Agency in South Bend, Ind.  The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Erskine and Erika L. Csicsila.

According to evidence presented at trial, the victims were under the age of 18 when Spencer induced them to travel to Chicago in the spring of 2018.  Once in the city, Spencer on multiple occasions arranged for the victims to meet with individuals to engage in commercial sex acts.    A co-conspirator – RONALD WILLIAMS, 65, of Lynwood, Ill. – drove the victims to some of the meetings. Afterward, Spencer and Williams kept the bulk of the proceeds.

Both victims testified at trial about having been sex trafficked by Spencer and Williams.

Williams was also convicted on trafficking and conspiracy charges.  He was sentenced in 2023 to 15 years in federal prison.

If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by calling 1-800-843-5678 or logging on to www.cybertipline.com.

Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

BOSTON – A Canton man was sentenced today for sex trafficking a minor who had been reported missing.

Keion Rowell, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 15 years in prison and five years of supervised release. In September 2023, Rowell was convicted by a federal jury of one count of sex trafficking of a child. 

“Mr. Rowell inflicted severe trauma on a vulnerable young life. Today’s sentence ensures that this dangerous man will be removed from our community for a very long time,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “As we close Human Trafficking Awareness Month, this case serves as a stark reminder that this insidious crime preys on the most vulnerable victims. Our office will work tirelessly to combat human trafficking and ensure that our communities are safe and that even the most vulnerable can live without fear of exploitation or harm.”

“The cruelty and inhumanity displayed by Keion Rowell is staggering. He forced a child into sexual servitude, unleashing physical and emotional abuse even as he profited from that child’s exploitation,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “Every day, children are being sexually exploited and traumatized in our area, and across the country. FBI Boston’s Child Exploitation – Human Trafficking Task Force will never stop working to find and free trafficked children and ensure those responsible are brought to justice. We ask anyone with knowledge of child sex trafficking to let us know about it. Dial 1-800-CALL-FBI or go online to tips.fbi.gov.”

On or about Jan. 18, 2021, Rowell met the 15-year-old victim, who had recently run away from home. Almost immediately, Rowell created and posted numerous online commercial sex advertisements that contained photos of the victim, including nude photos, and told her that she would have to engage in prostitution. Rowell then communicated with sex buyers and sent the victim to meet with those men to have sex in exchange for money he kept. On one occasion, when the victim did not make enough money to satisfy Rowell’s demands, he punched her in the face. 

On Jan. 28, 2021, approximately 10 days after the victim had been reported missing, law enforcement participated in an undercover operation to rescue her. When she was recovered, the victim had Rowell’s phone which contained photos of the victim and Rowell, information about his personal bank accounts, links to online advertisements for commercial sex and communications with sex buyers. 

If you or someone you know may be impacted or experiencing commercial sex trafficking, please contact USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and FBI SAC Cohen made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office; the Boston and Belmont Police Departments; and the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian A. Fogerty of the Civil Rights & Human Trafficking Unit and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alyssa Tochka prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

A federal judge in the District of Hawaii unsealed a 20-count indictment charging a Hawaii man with five counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; one count of sex trafficking of a minor; three counts of obstructing and interfering with a sex trafficking investigation; 11 counts of interstate travel and transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises and one count of interstate transportation of the purposes of prostitution. The indictment also charges a co-defendant with three counts of interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.

According to the indictment, Isaiah McCoy, 37, used force, fraud and coercion to cause four adult women and one minor to engage in commercial sex acts in Hawaii between May 2019 and May 2023. The indictment also alleges that co-defendant Anwar Al-Rasul, 60, used cell phones and the internet to discuss booking commercial sex acts and collected payments from commercial sex acts between October 2019 and November 2019.

The charge of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years, a maximum penalty of life in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Restitution is also mandatory upon any conviction for sex trafficking. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence upon any conviction after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Special Agent in Charge John F. Tobon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Honolulu Field Office made the announcement.

HSI investigated the case with the assistance of the Honolulu Police Department.

Trial Attorneys Maryam Zhuravitsky and Meghan Tokash of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case.

HSI is asking anyone with information about McCoy and Al Rasul to contact the HSI Honolulu Field Office at 808-529-1900 and Press “2” for the duty agent. Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A New Bern, N.C. woman was sentenced today to 78 months in prison, and 5 years of supervised release, for sex trafficking a minor victim in March of 2022. On August 9, 2023, Brittney Chantel McCoy, 34, pled guilty to one count of sex trafficking of a minor. McCoy is also required to register as a sex offender.

“Sex trafficking of minors is happening right here in Eastern North Carolina,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “We have launched two Human Trafficking Task Forces with our law enforcement partners, working tirelessly to identify, locate, and rescue victims and zealously prosecuting those responsible.”

According to court documents and other information presented in court, in March 2022, McCoy was residing with her co-defendant, Melody Faye Nobles-Green, and a 16-year-old minor victim, in Wilmington. McCoy, who was already engaged in commercial sex, began posting online escort advertisements for the minor. McCoy arranged for the minor to see commercial sex clients and engaged in commercial sex dates with the minor. Nobles, who was previously sentenced to 48 months for her role, allowed McCoy and the minor to entertain the commercial sex dates in her home in exchange for a portion of the money they earned. Later that same month, McCoy took the minor to Jacksonville, NC to engage in commercial sex. Nobles was again promised a share of the proceeds but when she did not receive any money, Nobles called authorities to report McCoy for exploiting and sex trafficking the minor.

Investigators moved quickly to locate and recover the minor victim the same day. McCoy admitted to knowing the minor’s age but initially denied sex trafficking the minor. Investigators were eventually able to establish McCoy’s role after reviewing phone messages and other material demonstrating that she posted commercial sex ads for herself and the minor, negotiated rates, and facilitated and arranged commercial sex dates for the minor in both Wilmington and Jacksonville. Although Nobles was initially not viewed as a subject because she had called in the tip to authorities, further investigation revealed her role in aiding and abetting the exploitation of the minor victim and attempting to profit from the same. Investigators also identified and arrested an adult male, Jermaine Linton, who transported McCoy and the minor, and facilitated their commercial sex while in Jacksonville. Linton is facing state charges for his role.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The case was investigated by the Coastal Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force, led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from Onslow County Sheriff’s Office, Jacksonville Police Department, Wilmington Police Department, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service. the North Carolina 5th Prosecutorial District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the state case; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan M. Stephany prosecuted the federal case.

A copy of this press release is located on our website. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:23-cr-00022-M-RJ.

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Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

NEWARK, N.J. – A Brooklyn, New York, man was charged with child sex trafficking and related offenses, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Soauib Butcher, 30, of Brooklyn, is charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor, sex trafficking of a minor, and transporting a minor to engage in commercial sexual activity. He appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III in Newark federal court and was detained.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In August 2019, Butcher induced a minor victim, whom he met on social media, to run away from a group home and meet him at a train station in Somerville, New Jersey. Butcher brought the victim by train to New York City, where he instructed the victim to perform oral sex for money on a rooftop in Brooklyn. Several days later, Butcher brought the victim to Elizabeth, New Jersey, where, from August 2019 to January 2020, the victim stayed with Butcher and a conspirator in a series of motel rooms. The conspirator posted advertisements depicting the victim on escort websites and, together with Butcher, arranged for customers to come to the motels to have sex with the victim in exchange for money. 

Each of the crimes charged in the indictment carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum term of life imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron L. Webman of the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

SIOUX FALLS – January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. To commemorate the month, U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell renewed the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s commitment to bringing traffickers to justice, assisting trafficked victims, and enhancing public awareness through community outreach. 

Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of a person for labor, services, or commercial sex, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion that is physical and/or psychological. The exploitation of a minor for commercial sex is human trafficking regardless of whether any form of force, fraud, or coercion is used by the trafficker.

“Human trafficking does not adhere to social or educational boundaries—it can happen to anyone,” said U.S. Attorney Ramsdell. “That’s why my office is committed to working alongside our partners in law enforcement to prevent human trafficking and to bring offenders to justice.”

To enhance awareness and educate the community about human trafficking, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has released a public service announcement, available here, about how to identify potential trafficking situations and where to report suspected trafficking activity.

Recent Human Trafficking Prosecutions

In the last year alone, the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s anti-trafficking efforts resulted in notable prosecutions that have led to federal charges, convictions, and prison sentences against individual traffickers:

United States v. Daniel Kubica: On March 23, 2023, Daniel Kubica, 39, of Chicago, Illinois, was charged with multiple federal offenses relating to sex trafficking of women in the Black Hills and elsewhere. Kubica is charged with sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; benefitting from sex trafficking; and using a facility of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise. Between August 31, 2022, and September 29, 2022, Kubica facilitated an illegal commercial sex operation, through which at least three females in the Black Hills area, and other women in the United States, engaged in commercial sexual activity through Kubica’s use of force, threats, and coercion. Kubica is currently scheduled for a federal jury trial on March 26, 2024.

United States v. Gordon Weston: On January 10, 2024, a federal jury in Rapid City, South Dakota, convicted Gordon Weston, 57, of Oglala, South Dakota, of Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet and Commercial Sex Trafficking. Weston was indicted by a federal grand jury in September of 2021. Weston was employed as the Activities Coordinator at the Emergency Youth Shelter in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, from 2009 to 2021. Weston commonly requested juvenile females who stayed at the shelter to be “friends” with him on Facebook after they had left the shelter. Weston contacted at least one juvenile female and offered her money and transportation in exchange for sexual encounters with him. Weston is awaiting sentencing.

United States v. John Ray Heath: In March of 2023, John Ray Heath, 52, of Rapid City, South Dakota, was indicted for using the internet to attempt to sexually exploit a minor. The charge related to Heath attempting to meet an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old female for sex. The individual was actually an undercover law enforcement officer engaged in proactive policing of sex offenders. During the investigation, the law enforcement officer discovered that Heath was sex trafficking a minor and sexually exploiting multiple other females in the Rapid City area. Heath was thereafter indicted for sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; sexual exploitation of a minor; enticement of a minor using the internet, and other federal sex offenses. Heath pleaded guilty to sex trafficking a minor and sexual exploitation of a minor and is scheduled for sentencing on March 1, 2024.

United States v. Odarie Massiah: On August 2, 2023, Odarie Massiah, 33, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was charged with Commercial Sex Trafficking of an adult female by force, threats of force, fraud and coercion between July 1, 2020, and August 8, 2022. The defendant is alleged to have benefited financially from the commercial sex acts in which he caused his adult victim to engage. He is scheduled for trial on February 20, 2024.

United States v. Richard Alan Kucera & Ivy Rose Heron: On November 1, 2023, Richard Alan Kucera, 65, and Ivy Rose Heron, 35, both of Winner, South Dakota, were charged with three counts of Sex Trafficking of Minors between April 3, 2019, and July 31, 2021. Kucera was also charged with three additional counts of Producing Child Pornography. Both defendants are scheduled for trial on March 19, 2024.

United States v. Sheyenne Rodriguez: On August 17, 2023, Sheyenne Rodriguez, 41, of Wakpala, South Dakota, was indicted for sex trafficking of a child and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. In March of 2021, Rodriguez is alleged to have recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, and provided a minor to engage in a commercial sex act in the District of South Dakota and elsewhere. Rodriguez is currently scheduled for a federal jury trial on June 4, 2024.

United States v. Zeng Quiang Yang: On May 3, 2022, Zeng Quiang Yang, 46, of Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, was charged with Unlawful Employment of Aliens. He pleaded guilty to the charge. Between January of 2019 and May of 2020, Yang was the manager of a restaurant in Huron, South Dakota. During that time frame, Yang knowingly employed unauthorized aliens. On December 11, 2023, he was sentenced to one year of probation.

United States v. William Godoy: On December 6, 2022, a superseding indictment was filed, charging William Godoy, 33, of Guatemala, with Illegal Reentry After Deportation; two counts of Trafficking with Respect to Slavery; two counts of Harboring/Concealing Illegal Aliens; and two counts of Encouraging or Inducing an Alien to come to, enter, or reside in the US. Godoy is scheduled for trial on February 13, 2024.

Online Sex Trafficking Operations: In collaboration with several law enforcement partners, there were two joint online sex-trafficking operations in 2023, as part of Project Safe Childhood. The undercover sex trafficking operations target internet predators and illustrate proactive efforts by law enforcement to apprehend would-be exploiters. Via electronic devices and social apps, the perpetrators typically negotiate a time and place to meet the minor to engage in unlawful sex acts. When they arrive at the pre-determined location to meet the minor, they are instead met by law enforcement agents and placed under arrest.

The first operation ran from March 3, 2023, through March 8, 2023, and resulted in the arrest and indictment of six men from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. All six men were charged with Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet. The second sting operation ran August 4, 2023, through August 10, 2023, during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. As a result of this operation, four Rapid City, South Dakota, men and one Box Elder, South Dakota, man were arrested. Four were charged with Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet and one was charged with Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

If you believe you are the victim of human trafficking or have information about a potential trafficking situation, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or send a text to 233733. You can also submit a tip online, through the FBI Field Office at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or through your local law enforcement agency.   

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Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – As National Human Trafficking Prevention Month draws to a close, U.S. Attorney Dena J. King continues to highlight the importance of education and outreach in the prevention, identification, and disruption of human trafficking activity, and commends community organizations for their partnership and provision of trauma-informed services to trafficking victims and survivors.

“We simply cannot, and will not, live in a society where human trafficking is allowed to happen,” said U.S. Attorney King this morning during a human trafficking awareness event hosted by Present Age Ministries, an organization dedicated to the prevention of the sex trafficking of minors. Present Age Ministries is also a member of the Charlotte Metro Human Trafficking Task Force, a coalition of law enforcement, prosecutors, and service providers committed to supporting survivors and eliminating the crime of human trafficking through prevention and intervention strategies.

“It is important to bring this sinister crime out of the shadows – where it thrives – and into the forefront – where it belongs – where we can learn about it, understand it, and educate others, so together we can fight against it,” U.S. Attorney King expressed in her remarks, and noted her Office’s renewed commitment to eradicating human trafficking by partnering with law enforcement agencies and the community to bring traffickers to justice, protect victims, and empower survivors.

To further those efforts, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has a team of experienced prosecutors and personnel that handle human trafficking cases. A federal prosecutor also serves as the Western District’s Human Trafficking Coordinator, and works closely with the Office’s Victim Witness Assistance Unit to ensure that the rights and needs of trafficking victims remain central throughout the investigation and prosecution of each case. The Victim Witness Assistance Unit also partners with the Charlotte Metro Human Trafficking Task Force and other non-governmental organizations and service providers to ensure that appropriate trauma-informed care and resources are made available to rescued trafficking victims and survivors.

“Brokering relationships and building strategic partnerships at the local, state, and federal level is vital to creating a network of resources that can provide holistic support to victims of human trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney King. “I want to thank all the partner agencies, public and private, for their dedication to eradicating human trafficking and for sharing their resources, insights, and understanding of victim-centered care. Their work helps us better-serve victims and bring traffickers to justice.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is also committed to raising awareness by educating the public on how to identify signs of human trafficking and where to report suspected trafficking activity.

While there are no defining characteristics of a human trafficking situation, recognizing the signs, or indicators, is the first step in identifying this crime. The presence of one or more of the red flags below may signal a human trafficking situation that should be reported:

• Limited freedom – trafficking victims may have security measures in their work and/or living locations, their movements are monitored, or they are not free to come and go as they please.
• Lack of control – trafficking victims may have few or no personal possessions, are not in control of their money, owe a suspiciously large debt to an employer and are unable to pay it off, do not possess their identification documents and personal records, appear fearful, are unable or unwilling to communicate freely, and when they do, their answers seems scripted or rehearsed.
• Suspicious/Unsafe working conditions – trafficking victims may work excessively long hours with no breaks and under poor conditions, show signs of physical abuse, appear deprived of food, water, sleep, or medical care, and are under 18-years-old and engaged in commercial sex.

If you encounter a potential trafficking situation and can communicate with a suspected victim without jeopardizing the victim’s safety, the following questions may assist in determining if someone is in a trafficking situation:

• Has someone hurt you/do you need help?
• Are you safe/scared?
• Where do you sleep and eat?
• Are you able to come and go as you please?
• Have you been hurt or threatened with violence if you attempted to leave?
• Has the safety of your family been threatened?
• Do you live with your employer?
• Can you leave the job if you want to?
• Do you owe a debt to your employer?
• Do you have your passport/identification? If not, who has it?

If you believe you are the victim of human trafficking or have information about a potential trafficking situation, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. Specialists are available to answer calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also send a text to 233733 or submit a tip online. You can also contact the Charlotte Office of the FBI at 704-672-6100, or your local law enforcement agency.

To further enhance awareness and educate the community about human trafficking, the U.S. Attorney’s Office also has released a Public Service Announcement on how to identify potential trafficking situations and where to report suspected human trafficking activity.