HUMAN TRAFFICKING BRIEF GRAND PRAIRIE POLICE DEPARTMENT
INSTRUCTOR Investigator Byron Olivere #305 15 years at GPPD TCLEOSE Instructor 3 years w/ Tarrant County Narcotic Task Force Assigned to Problem Solving Unit
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Trafficking vs. Prostitution Human Trafficking Must require Force, Fraud, or Coercion if the victim is over the age of 17. Not required if the victim is under 17. Prostitution No Force, Fraud, or Coercion. Freedom to move around. Usually Voluntary.
Human Trafficking Sex trafficking is the fastest growing business of organized crime, and the third-largest criminal enterprise in the world. Child victims are a particular concern. The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12 to 14. Traffickers are increasingly active on social media, which they use to target victims and advertise to customers.
Human Trafficking Sex traffickers in Texas target juvenile runaways, illegal aliens, and other vulnerable victims, using force, fraud or coercion to compel them into the sex trade. Often, victims are manipulated by traffickers to remain with them due to their emotional or financial dependency on the trafficker for food, housing, and other needs.
Human Trafficking Approximately 100,000 children are estimated to be in the sex trade in the United States each year, according to the Polaris Project, a US nongovernmental organization that studies human trafficking.14 In 2013, Texas ranked second in the nation with 2,236 incoming tips (calls, emails, tip forms) received by the Polaris Project s National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) for human trafficking tips.
Human Trafficking Domestic victims include juvenile runaways, foster care children, other at-risk minors, and vulnerable adults who are targeted by traffickers.19 Many of these victims are targeted on social media websites, within schools, at public transportation stations, at shopping malls, and near homeless shelters. Traffickers are skilled manipulators who groom victims through false promises of affection and wealth, by taking control of basic needs such as providing food and shelter, and by using threats and violence.
Anthony Thomas Case 12-30-2012 Dispatched 911 call Patrol Officer finds victim running from apartment Patrol Officer contacts Supervisor Oliver called out to the scene
Thomas Continued Victim stated she was lured to the location through Fraud Stated she was answering a Craigslist ad for a job as a secretary Victim was taken to the apartment and forced to strip and pose nude for photographs under the threat of violence
Thomas Victim was told there was no secretary job, and that she was going to work as an escort Told she would have to conduct a trial when the boss returned Told how to collect money and how much she was required to make Was not free to leave
Thomas Continued Suspects got drunk and high on narcotics throughout the night and victim was able to call 911 Evidentiary Search Warrant signed and carried out 12-31-2012 at 0800 hours Multiple people located inside Loaded gun located near the front door
Thomas Continued Multiple Cell Phones/Surveillance Cameras/Computers/and Paperwork Seized Report Filed for Human Trafficking and Felon in Possession of a Firearm 01-02-2013 Arrest made/vehicle Seized July 2013 Thomas sentenced to 5 years in prison and mandatory 10 years probation at the State Level on a plea
Human Trafficking Can occur anywhere anytime Victims will be very reluctant to speak with Law Enforcement Victims are conditioned to lie to the Police Averages show that a trafficked victim will not tell the truth until the 4 th time speaking with law enforcement
Signs 4 Visible injuries: bruising, swelling, redness 4 Inconsistent stories 4 Descriptions of multiple sexual partners in SANE exams on normal sex cases / sexually transmitted disease 4 Failure to make eye contact 4 Overtly sexual online profile/sexually provocative pictures on the phone or online accounts 4 Teased by other students for being sexually active or a prostitute 4 Backpage ads are linked to a person or business name or phone number on Google 4 Gang signs/affiliation 4 Branding/Tattoos
Signs 4 Claim of boyfriend or girlfriend relationship with older individual 4 Fake or no identification 4 Multiple phone or social media accounts 4 Language: Backpage, Eccie.net, stable, family, Daddy, incalls, outcalls 4 Changes in the child s appearance, friend groups, socio-economic status, level of sexualization, activities, relationship to authority.
Signs 4 Child has multiple runaways within a short period of time 4 Child or teenager with older person who is not related to them 4 Child appears much older than stated age in appearance 4 Child has story that is pat but not logically coherent throughout 4 Child has in-depth knowledge of life on the streets 4 Child thinks that adult life and independence greatest value 4 Evidence of controlling relationship -schedule/activities dictated by someone else -isolation from friends and family -unable to make simple decisions w/o boyfriend 4 Claim of boyfriend or girlfriend relationship with older individual
Google Number s
Helpful Human Trafficking Links https://polarisproject.org/resources/2016- hotline-statistics https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign Investigator Byron Olivere #305 Desk 972-237-4709 Email: bolivere@gptx.org