The Bureau of Justice Statistics has released the first summary report based on data collected through the Human Trafficking Reporting System (HTRS). Information on more than 1,200 alleged incidents of human trafficking entered into the HTRS by federally funded human trafficking task forces between January 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008 are detailed in the report. Most (83%) of the reported incidents involved allegations of sex trafficking. Labor trafficking accounted for 12% of incidents, and other or unknown forms of human trafficking made up 5%. Information on the number of suspects was available for 475 alleged human trafficking incidents. Among these, task forces reported 871 known suspects and arrest data on 216 suspects.
Developed in 2007, the HTRS collects data on alleged human trafficking incidents from 38 multi-agency human trafficking task forces funded by the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. The data includes general characteristics of incidents, victims, and suspects, the number of suspects and victims involved in incidents, the number of agencies involved in human trafficking investigations, as well as information about whether the cases have been confirmed as human trafficking. Only a small percentage of the investigations reported into HTRS have reached a point where they are confirmed as an incident of human trafficking. To be confirmed in the HTRS, the case must have led to an arrest and been subsequently confirmed by law enforcement, or the victims must have received a special non-immigrant Visa classification, as provided under the 2000 TVPA.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-164) requires submission of biennial reports on human trafficking using available data from state and local authorities. In response to this requirement, the Department of Justice (DOJ) funded the creation of the HTRS, which was designed by researchers the Institute of Race and Justice at Northeastern University (NEU) and the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute (UI). The HTRS is updated monthly.
The report entitled Characteristics of Suspected Human Trafficking Incidents, 2007-08 was written by Tracey Kyckelhahn, Allen J. Beck, and Thomas H. Cohen of the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
A federal judge today sentenced Waquita Wallace to 20 years in prison and five years of supervised release for a federal civil rights charge of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion for compelling a young St. Louis woman to commit acts of prostitution. Wallace had previously pleaded guilty and is the last of three defendants in this case to be sentenced on sex trafficking related charges. April Chaney and Richard Harper were previously sentenced to 60 months and 27 months in prison respectively for their roles in this crime.
Key Member of Atlanta Human Trafficking Ring Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking Charges
The Justice Department today announced that Juan Cortes-Meza, a Mexican National, pleaded guilty in federal district court in Atlanta to sex trafficking offenses involving the forced prostitution of at least 10 young Mexican women and girls. Otto Jaime Larios Perez, a Guatemalan National, also pleaded guilty today to making a false statement to law enforcement and, thereby, obstructing a human trafficking investigation. Earlier this year, two other defendants charged in the same indictment, Francisco Cortes-Meza and Raul Cortes-Meza, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking offenses.
Five Sentenced for Forcing Guatemalan Girls and Women to Work as Prostitutes in Los Angeles
Five members of an extended family were sentenced to federal prison late yesterday, all receiving lengthy sentences ranging from 30 to 40 years for their roles in an international sex trafficking ring that lured young Guatemalan women and girls to the Los Angeles area and forced them into prostitution.
Eighth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals decision: US v. Farrell
In Farrell, the Court upheld the conviction of two defendants convicted of Peonage and Document Servitude. This case presented several unique challenges, including the fact that the victims left the traffickers� control, returned to their home country, and then returned to the traffickers.
St. Louis Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Sex Trafficking Charge
Waquita Wallace pleaded guilty to the federal civil rights charge of sex trafficking. Wallace admitted to forcing a young woman to engage in commercial sex acts through a combination of force, fraud and coercion. Defendant Wallace also benefitted financially from the sex trafficking. She faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The court announced that sentencing will take place on July 7, 2009.
Houston Man Sentenced for Human Trafficking and Alien Smuggling Charges
Maximino Mondragon, 57, was sentenced today for his role in a scheme to smuggle Central American women and girls into the United States and to hold them in a condition of forced labor in the Houston area. U.S. District Judge Vanessa D. Gilmore sentenced Mondragon to 156 months incarceration, three years post release supervision, $200 special assessment and further ordered that he, jointly with his co-defendants, pay $ $1,715,588.05 in restitution to the victims.
The Institute on Race and Justice at Northeastern University
The Institute on Race and Justice has strived to fulfill its mission of utilizing strategic social science research methodologies and community, practitioner, and government collaboration to assist in the development of policy changes that advance the cause of social justice. The Institute's affiliated faculty members help broaden the scope of interdisciplinary race and justice scholarship around the Northeastern campus. The Institute is also incredibly grateful for its internal and external sponsors, who provide the support necessary to help the Institute achieve its race and justice research goals.
The Urban Institute was established in 1968 to promote sound social policy and public debate on national priorities. The Institute's 10 policy centers carry out independent, nonpartisan research, gather and analyze data, evaluate programs and services, and educate policymakers and the public on critical issues and trends. The Justice Policy Center (JPC) studies crime, justice, and community safety. JPC researchers collaborate with practitioners, public officials, and community groups to make the Center's research useful to decision makers and agencies in the justice system, and also to the neighborhoods and communities harmed by crime and disorder.
Bureau of Justice Statistics
the United States' primary source for criminal justice statistics
BJS' mission is to collect, analyze, publish, and disseminate information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. These data are critical to Federal, State, and local policymakers in combating crime and ensuring that justice is both efficient and evenhanded.
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