PRESS CONFERENCE HUMAN TRAFFICKING CHARGES January 30, 2014 Prosecutor Warren Faulk Camden County Prosecutors Office Chief Harry Earle Gloucester Township Police Department
January 30, 2014 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Jason Laughlin Cell (609) 820-7630 Office Phone- (856) 225-8444 NEWS RELEASE Human Trafficking Charges Acting Attorney General John Hoffman, Camden County Prosecutor Warren W. Faulk, Gloucester Township Police Chief Harry Earle, Bellmawr Police Chief William Walsh, Magnolia Police Chief John Evans, Runnemede Police Chief Mark Diano, Pine Hill Police Chief Christopher Winters and Winslow Township Police Chief Robert Stimelski reported one of the first cases in the state to use a newly enhanced human trafficking statute designed to allow law enforcement to target the men and women who most benefit from the sex trade in New Jersey. Van Howell, M/41, of Sicklerville, and Krista Burton, F/30, of Columbia, PA, are among the first in the state to be charged with the new 1 st degree Human Trafficking charge after their arrests January 24, 2014. Both are being held on $400,000 bail at the Camden County Jail. The first degree offense carries a mandatory penalty of a minimum of 20 years incarceration in a New Jersey state prison. Howell and Burton were charged with the first degree offense when officers learned the 26-yearold woman they escorted to the hotel hailed from North Carolina. She appears to have been engaged in the sex trade in Cherokee, North Carolina, and was recruited by the two defendants to work in New Jersey with a promise of more lucrative business. The two defendants paid for her bus ticket to New Jersey and last Friday was her first day participating in New Jersey s sex trade. The arrests resulted from a joint Prosecutor s Office and Gloucester Township Police prostitution
sting at the Howard Johnson s on Route 168 on January 24. The operation was coordinated through the state s Human Trafficking Task Force. In rescuing the victim in this case and charging two individuals under New Jersey s new law, the Camden County Prosecutor s Office and partnering police agencies demonstrated the vigilance that is needed to uncover this terrible crime of human trafficking, said Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman. When a young woman is transported into this state and sells herself for sex because of threats and intimidation, she is a sexual slave, not a prostitute. I am proud to say that New Jersey is in the forefront in shining the light on this form of modern-day slavery and coordinating law enforcement efforts to catch traffickers and aid their victims. It is alleged that the female victim arrived in New Jersey just hours before being detained in the sting operation. Howell and Burton are accused of immediately making it clear to the woman she was expected to earn money for them through the sex trade, and would suffer consequences if she did not. The victim was ignorant of this area and is believed to have had neither the funds not the knowledge of the region to leave the two defendants. An investigation into the activities of Howell and Burton is ongoing. Evidence collected in the past week suggests the two had a network that went beyond one North Carolina woman, and may have worked to import other women to New Jersey to participate in the sex industry. New Jersey s Attorney General s Office has made human trafficking a priority for law enforcement statewide, as New Jersey has several factors that makes it particularly fertile ground for this crime. Big cities with large homeless populations, a higher concentration of strip clubs and go-go bars than any other state in the country and the presence of gangs and organized crime all contribute to human trafficking here. Human trafficking has been spotlighted due to the Super Bowl being held in New Jersey this weekend, but the Gloucester Township case demonstrates this is a crime that s not isolated to the New York metropolitan area, and is not limited to Super Bowl weekend. While the woman allegedly trafficked in this case was an adult, it is believed that human trafficking rings like the one run by Howell and Burton often target minors for exploitation. Law enforcement arranged the Gloucester Township sting after police received information that the location, which is easily accessible from a number of major roads, was frequently used as a rendezvous for prostitutes and johns. Undercover officers rented hotel rooms to pose as customers and used a website to order women. The hotel s staff and management was fully cooperative with law enforcement. The primary intent of the operation was not to target the prostitutes themselves, who are often women with mental health issues and drug addictions, but to target pimping and the network that facilitates the sex trade. The operation netted eight on charges of Prostitution and Promoting Prostitution. Several of those charged were escorts or drivers for women.
The investigation at the Howard Johnson s treated the women detained for prostitution as victims, not criminals. Two women were not charged, including the woman from North Carolina, and a social worker employed by the Gloucester Township Police Department was on hand to counsel the women and connect them with social services. We understand that in an effort to effectively fight crime we must begin to focus beyond the belief that arresting someone is the only way to fight crime, Chief Earle said. Community education, prevention efforts, compassion, re-defining what a victim is, and community based partnerships coupled together with arrests must be the way that we solve and prevent crime now and in the future. The Human Trafficking offense has been on the books in New Jersey since 2005, but in July of last year it was expanded in some important ways. Previously, grounds for charging Human Trafficking included a threat of serious bodily harm or physical restraint, criminal coercion, destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing any passport, immigration-related document, or other ID. The 2013 amendments make fraud, deceit and misrepresentation, as well as making drugs available to victims, all evidence of human trafficking. The amendments also created resources for victims of human trafficking, including the creation of a statewide Commission on Human Trafficking, a Human Trafficking Survivor s Assistance Fund and the opportunity for victims to apply to have related convictions expunged. New Jersey, with its dense population, large immigrant community and extensive highway network and transportation hubs, is an epicenter for human trafficking in the United States, Prosecutor Faulk said. This abuse isn t limited to the big cities, though. The mistreatment of victims through the sex trade happens in your own backyard, and we are putting perpetrators on notice that we will be watching and using all our resources to combat them. Women who participate in prostitution are often drug addicts, sometimes homeless and, in some cases, suffering from mental health issues. They are committing a crime, but they are also as vulnerable a population as any in our society. Nationally, the number of people who are victims of human trafficking, either in the sex industry or through other forms of labor, is not known, but could be in the hundreds of thousands, according to the Polaris Project, a national organization devoted to ending human trafficking. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center reported a 259 percent increase in calls between 2008 and 2012 and 9,298 unique cases of human trafficking in the same time period. The others charged in Friday s sting are as follows: Amelia Adams, F/19, of Clementon. Charged with Prostitution Hector L. Echevarria, M/25, of Sicklerville. Charged with Promoting Prostitution Robert M. Myers, M/45, of Elizabeth, NJ. Charged with Promoting Prostitution Jenny E. Rossi, F/29, of Westville. Charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Prostitution
Melinda Scheunemann, F/24, of Cherry Hill. Charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Being a Fugitive from Justice Andrea K. Kerber, F/49, of Collingswood. Charged with Prostitution All persons charged with criminal offenses are innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.
Human Trafficking Press Conference January 30, 2014 Statement of Chief Harry Earle Gloucester Township Police Department The operation conducted this past Friday was different than any other prostitution operations in the past. The new mindset of fighting prostitution where we know that prostitutes are very often victims was implemented. Our focus was to treat the individuals engaged in prostitution as someone who has been a victim of a crime including human trafficking. In an effort to facilitate this, Gloucester Township Police Licensed Clinical Social Worker Michelle Selfridge and Gloucester Township Police Criminal Intelligence Analyst Agent Gillian Burkett met with each female who was alleged to be engaging in prostitution. This approach has proven to be highly successful as one of the females disclosed to Social Worker Selfridge and Agent Burkett that she had been coerced into leaving the State of North Carolina. Social Worker Selfridge and Agent Burkett also worked with all of the females detained and offered services and guidance. As a result of this joint initiative which involved approximately thirty officers, eight people were arrested and two of the eight were charged with first degree human trafficking. Four subjects were charged with promoting prostitution and four were charged with prostitution. Two of the subjects arrested were also wanted fugitives and two were found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia. The exact names, specific charges, and bail information is listed in your press packet. It is important to note that one of the subjects charged with human trafficking is a female. This is significant as people of all ages must be aware that there are women who recruit and force other women or even young men to engage in sexual activity. In April of 2013 the Gloucester Township Police Department launched a program entitled MARRS. (Missing At Risk Response Strategies). MARRS is a comprehensive and community based approach to locating missing persons, educating the community about missing persons, sexual exploitation, and implementing strategies to address this growing concern. During the development of Project MARRS it was quickly recognized that those that are a member of a vulnerable population are at higher risk of committing crime or becoming victims. This population is often solicited, or even forced to participate in crime including sexual exploitation and human trafficking. The research associated with Project MARRS found that those who have been sexually or physically abused often have run away from home, are isolated from family and friends, have unstable home lives, or have special needs, and can easily be preyed upon by organized criminal groups or individuals. The criminals who exploit these vulnerable populations cause them to be sexually victimized, or partake in prostitution activities through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. The use of such force, fraud, or coercion causing a person to engage in prostitution or forced labor is human trafficking. An important component of Project MARRS is that as a police department and as a community, we recognized and acknowledged that often those who commit acts of prostitution are victims. Additionally, we understand that in an effort to effectively fight crime we must begin to focus beyond the belief that arresting someone is the only way to fight crime. Community education, prevention efforts, compassion, re-defining what a victim is, and community based partnerships
coupled together with arrests must be the way that we solve and prevent crime now and in the future. For nearly a year, members the Gloucester Township Police Department have participated in and conducted training sessions about human trafficking. We also engaged in a community education campaign about human trafficking and sexual exploitation in an effort to not only inform the community but to solicit them as partners in fighting this crime. While we were taking the education approach with the community we were also preparing for a multi-agency undercover operation targeting not the prostitute but those people who force vulnerable victims into committing sexual acts or who commit human trafficking. An integral part of our strategic policing strategy targeting sexual exploitation has involved a focus on victim services. Thanks to the support of Mayor David Mayer, the Gloucester Township Police Department employed Michelle Selfridge, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who enables us to truly offer services to those that have been victimized while at the same time fighting crime by learning and working to change the underlying circumstances which may have led to the criminal activity. This past Friday evening a team of Gloucester Township Police Officers partnered with members of the Camden County Prosecutor s Office, Winslow Township Police Department, Pine Hill Police Department, Bellmawr Police Department, Magnolia Police Department, and Runnemede Police Department for a wide-ranging undercover operation focusing on prostitution at the Howard Johnson Hotel on the Black Horse Pike, 832 North Black Horse Pike in Gloucester Township. It is important to understand that the management of the Howard Johnson Hotel cooperated in this investigation from the beginning. I wish to thank them for their assistance and support of our ongoing effort in fighting human trafficking. I am so very proud of all the members of the Gloucester Township Police Department and particularly proud of the Gloucester Township Police Department Investigations Bureau for their outstanding and hard work. I am also proud of the members of the Gloucester Township Police Department for practicing the most modern crime fighting tactics involving community education and well coordinated undercover police operations. I am also so proud of their professionalism for knowing that effective crime fighting and crime prevention requires new and unique strategies such as the ones we ve employed here in Gloucester Township. Human trafficking is taking place here in the United States and in communities across New Jersey and even here in Gloucester Township. However, also taking place here in Gloucester Township, is a crime fighting practice that is not only addressing the tragedy and grossly criminal act of sexual exploitation through of human trafficking but also engaging in a philosophy that in an effort to prevent crime we must address why some are committing such crimes. We will continue to aggressively put all of our resources towards these types of operations and investigations to eradicate the scourge of Human Trafficking.
Again, a special thanks to Prosecutor Faulk, Assistant Prosecutor Nevan Soumilas, and the Chiefs of the Runnemede, Pine Hill, Magnolia, and Winslow Township Police Departments. Also a special thanks to Kathleen Friess of the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General Human Trafficking Task force for her guidance during the past year.
Human Trafficking fact Sheet Trafficking Scenarios: Labor Sweatshops; hotels & resorts; migrant workers; cleaning services; construction/landscaping; peddling rings; restaurant work; etc Domestic Servitude Housekeeping; child rearing; nanny work Commercial Sexual Exploitation Prostitution; stripping; pornography; live-sex shows; brothels; massage parlors; cantinas/bars; escort services Groups Vulnerable to Human Trafficking: Minors Poor Homeless Sexually abused Substance abusers Developmentally delayed Low education level Foreign populations Legal immigrants
Foreigners from areas where law enforcement is typically distrusted Illegal aliens Those with little or no experience with the legal system Human Trafficking Stats: Any commercial sex act performed by a person under age 18 is considered human trafficking, regardless of whether force, fraud, or coercion is involved. A Department of Justice Survey of 2,500 Human Trafficking cases from 2008 to 2010 found: o Sex trafficking victims were overwhelmingly female (94 percent), compared to confirmed labor trafficking victims (68 percent female). About 13 percent of confirmed sex trafficking victims were 25 or older, while more than half (62 percent) of the confirmed labor trafficking victims were 25 or older. o Four-fifths of victims in confirmed sex trafficking cases were identified as U.S. citizens (83 percent), while most confirmed labor trafficking victims were identified as undocumented aliens (67 percent) or qualified aliens (28 percent). o Based upon cases where race was known, sex trafficking victims were more likely to be white (26 percent) or black (40 percent), compared to labor trafficking victims, who were more likely to be Hispanic (63 percent) or Asian (17 percent). o Most of the confirmed suspects were male (81 percent). More than half (62 percent) of confirmed sex trafficking suspects were black, while confirmed labor trafficking suspects were more likely to be Hispanic (48 percent). 41% of sex trafficking cases and 20% of labor trafficking cases referenced U.S. citizens as victims. 1 Women were referenced as victims in 85% of sex trafficking cases, and men in 40% of labor trafficking cases. 2 Since Sept. 2005, 193 cases of human trafficking have been reported to the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, including 93 victims trafficked for labor, 74 for sex and 26 for both labor and sex trafficking. 1 National Human Trafficking Resource Center 2 Ibid.
Phone Numbers and Web Sites National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline: 1-888-373-7888 AG s Office Hotline 1-877-986-7534 Department of Homeland Security 1-866-DHS-2-ICE Tip line 1-800-973-2867 Duty agent Federal Bureau of Investigations 973-792-3000 (New Jersey) 1-800-CALL-FBI (nationally) FBI http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/civilrights/human_trafficking Department of Homeland Security http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/humantrafficking.shtm Polaris Project http://www.polarisproject.org/ Truckers Against Trafficking http://www.truckersagainsttrafficking.com/ UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html Not for Sale Campaign http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/about/slavery/ Salvation Army- STOP-IT Initiative Against Human Trafficking http://www.sa-stopit.org/