Pennsylvania Legal professional Basic Michelle Henry and the Pennsylvania State Police introduced the arrests of twenty-two folks related to a long-standing, Philadelphia-based human trafficking ring on Oct. 22, 2024.
This investigation is the primary of its type in Pennsylvania. That’s as a result of it focused not solely the suspected chief of the trafficking ring, however all prongs of the enterprise, together with the alleged monetary supervisor, drivers and prospects, or “johns.”
I’m the director of the Institute to Handle Industrial Sexual Exploitation at Villanova College Charles Widger Faculty of Legislation. Beforehand, I used to be an assistant district legal professional in Philadelphia. In that position, I pioneered a program that inspired a gaggle of native, state and federal regulation enforcement companies to collaboratively examine and prosecute allegations of human trafficking within the metropolis.
So far, investigations into intercourse trafficking in Pennsylvania have occurred in silos. Legislation enforcement usually engages in stand-alone operations, or “prostitution stings,” that completely goal both the demand or the provision – the intercourse consumers or intercourse sellers. Different operations solely goal the traffickers.
Whereas arresting consumers of intercourse is an efficient method to scale back business sexual exploitation, it’s only one piece of the puzzle. The traffickers and facilitators are one other.
Concentrating on the provision is a extra complicated difficulty. Because of the overlap between folks in prostitution and victims of trafficking, this usually criminalizes – and additional traumatizes and stigmatizes – trafficking victims.
Villanova Legislation Institute to Handle Industrial Sexual Exploitation, CC BY-NC-SA
Intercourse trafficking prevalent in Philadelphia
Each federal and Pennsylvania state regulation criminalize human trafficking. Human trafficking is outlined as against the law of violence that happens when a person carries out a particular act, corresponding to recruiting, attractive or soliciting, by a particular means, particularly by power, fraud or coercion, for the goal of economic intercourse.
These complete anti-trafficking legal guidelines criminalize a variety of conduct and goal a broad vary of actors. However our evaluation of information from the Administrative Workplace of Pennsylvania Courts reveals that intercourse trafficking not solely occurs within the state, however that it occurs at alarming charges, particularly within the Philadelphia space.
Between 2014 and the tip of 2023, prosecutors in 38 counties throughout Pennsylvania have charged 304 defendants with trafficking-related offenses.
Of these, 115 led to convictions and 43% occurred in or round Philadelphia.
In 2023, Philadelphia County had the most human trafficking convictions within the state at 19, adopted by Delaware County with 11, Chester County with 10 and Bucks County with 9.
Arrest knowledge sheds some gentle on the prevalence of trafficking in Philadelphia. However as a result of illicit and underground nature of economic sexual exploitation, which incorporates prostitution, it’s troublesome to check and quantify.
Concentrating on consumers and suppliers
Amongst these arrested on Oct. 22 are Terrance Jones, the alleged chief, his daughter, Natoria Jones, the alleged monetary supervisor of the trafficking enterprise, 4 alleged drivers and 16 males who allegedly paid cash for intercourse.
Terrance Jones and Thomas Reilly, one in every of Jones’ alleged drivers and his “trusted confidant,” have been charged with trafficking in people and associated prices, together with involuntary servitude, selling prostitution and patronizing prostitution.
The opposite alleged drivers have been charged with selling prostitution and associated prices, and the alleged business intercourse consumers have been charged with patronizing prostitutes and prison conspiracy.
Financial market concept helps the idea that provide and distribution comply with demand. Making use of this concept to human trafficking results in the conclusion that so long as there’s a demand for business intercourse, there will likely be traffickers who exploit victims – primarily ladies, women and LGBTQ+ folks – to satisfy that demand.
Invoice Clark/CQ-Roll Name, Inc. through Getty Photographs
Turning level?
I’d argue that Henry used Pennsylvania’s human trafficking statute because the legislature meant it for use – to focus on all sectors that earn money from trafficking, facilitate the trafficking group and drive the marketplace for it to exist within the first place.
That’s exactly what makes this investigation distinctive. Legislation enforcement focused all ranges of the provision chain for business intercourse, uprooting the alleged trafficking ring from prime to backside. The chief, monetary supervisor, drivers and consumers have been all charged with a number of counts for his or her roles in allegedly exploiting the victims.
Furthermore, the truth that not one of the victims on this case was charged with prostitution is a recognition by the workplace of the legal professional basic that those that are exploited via intercourse trafficking are victims and shouldn’t be criminalized.
This recognition, coupled with the legal professional basic’s top-down method, may signify an vital turning level in investigative technique in Pennsylvania and past – one I consider that may considerably scale back charges of human trafficking and business sexual exploitation within the state.
Riley Crouthamel, a analysis assistant on the Institute to Handle Industrial Sexual Exploitation at Villanova College’s Charles Widger Faculty of Legislation, contributed to this text.
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