Re-posted Article
Police in NC push back against human traffickers
Officers say exploitation of women and children prevalent
03/14/2015 4:00 PM
FAYETTEVILLE, NC
Six people arrested and another who pleaded guilty in Fayetteville this month are part of a dark human trafficking industry that flourishes across North Carolina, police and victims’ advocates say.
Whether it’s because the industry is growing, or because more law enforcement efforts are being made to try to stop it, “The number of cases has climbed every year,” said Vincent Picard, spokesman for the southern region of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which includes North Carolina. “We know it’s happening, and it’s happening in every community in every state in the country.”
Human trafficking is the use of force, fraud or coercion to get another person to provide labor or sexual service. In North Carolina, investigators say they see more cases of sex trafficking than labor trafficking, and that victims most often are young women. But they also find cases involving children – male and female victims. Some victims are immigrants who have traveled or been smuggled across borders, while others were born and raised here.
The difference between sex trafficking and prostitution is that prostitutes are older than 18, are in the sex trade willfully and earn money or other payment from the enterprise.
