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You are here: Home / Archives for human trafficking

human trafficking

Senator Ileana Garcia Files Legislation to Enhance Efforts to End Human Trafficking in Florida

Posted on November 30, 2021

Senator Ileana Garcia (R-Miami) filed Senate Bill 294, Public Records/Statewide Council on Human Trafficking, now referred to its respective committees, to increase the effectiveness of the work performed by the Florida Alliance to End Human Trafficking and protect the identity of individuals that support efforts to end human trafficking in Florida. [Read more…] about Senator Ileana Garcia Files Legislation to Enhance Efforts to End Human Trafficking in Florida

Filed Under: Government, Soup Du Jour Tagged With: human trafficking

Senator Berman and Representative Skidmore File Legislation Cracking Down on Human Trafficking Predators

Posted on November 10, 2021

Senator Lori Berman (D-Delray Beach) and Representative Kelly Skidmore (D-Boca Raton) have filed legislation to increase penalties for specific human trafficking violations. [Read more…] about Senator Berman and Representative Skidmore File Legislation Cracking Down on Human Trafficking Predators

Filed Under: Government Tagged With: human trafficking

Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez and State Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees Address Human Trafficking Prevention Ahead of Super Bowl LIV

Posted on January 27, 2020

Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez and State Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees today highlighted the important role the Florida Department of Health has in identifying and helping victims of human trafficking, many of whom are minors. [Read more…] about Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez and State Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees Address Human Trafficking Prevention Ahead of Super Bowl LIV

Filed Under: Government Tagged With: human trafficking, Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez, Super Bowl LIV

Nine Arrested on Human Trafficking Charges

Posted on May 17, 2019

Attorney General Ashley Moody, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement today announced the arrests of nine individuals on charges related to human trafficking. [Read more…] about Nine Arrested on Human Trafficking Charges

Filed Under: Government Tagged With: Attorney General Ashley Moody, human trafficking

Overdorf Sponsors Bill to Toughen Human Trafficking Penalties

Posted on January 15, 2019

The first-term representative says House Bill 219’s mandatory minimum sentence for traffickers will help reduce trafficking and protect its victims.

State Representative Toby Overdorf has filed legislation that will toughen penalties for human trafficking in Florida. House Bill 219 would require a minimum term of incarceration for solicitation of prostitution offenses involving victims of human trafficking. [Read more…] about Overdorf Sponsors Bill to Toughen Human Trafficking Penalties

Filed Under: Campaign Tagged With: human trafficking, Toby Overdorf, Toby Overdorf Campaign

Attorney General Moody Recognizes Human Trafficking Prevention Month

Posted on January 10, 2019

January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and today Attorney General Ashley Moody is raising awareness to fight human trafficking. Attorney General Moody encourages all Floridians to take an active role to help combat this modern-day slavery.
[Read more…] about Attorney General Moody Recognizes Human Trafficking Prevention Month

Filed Under: Government Tagged With: Attorney General Ashley Moody, human trafficking, human trafficking prevention month

Florida Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Human Trafficking and Branding

Posted on April 27, 2018

Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Office of Statewide Prosecution today secured a prison sentence for a man convicted of human trafficking and branding a victim. Friday, a Marion County Judge sentenced Ryan Gemelle Poole, 33, to 30 years in state prison. The sentence comes after the jury found Poole guilty of human trafficking, deriving support from prostitution, unlawful use of a two-way communications device to facilitate a felony, sexual battery and branding. This is Florida’s first conviction under the state’s branding statute.

“This disgusting human trafficker branded his victim, raped and forced her to perform sex acts. We will not allow this evil to persist in Florida, and today’s sentencing serves as a strong warning to anyone trying to enslave and traffic people in our state,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “I want to thank my Statewide Prosecutors Julie Sercus and Rita Peters for their resolve and determination to ensure this monster did not escape justice.”

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office began investigating Poole in 2016. The investigation revealed that Poole met the victim on a dating website and started a romantic relationship. Poole then began grooming the victim for prostitution by giving the victim cocaine and coercing the victim to work as a stripper. Soon Poole began selling the victim for sex, advertising on the now defunct Backpage.com website.  

Poole forced the victim to travel from Marion County to Alachua, Charlotte, Hillsborough and Orange counties for the purposes of prostitution for personal financial gain. In addition, Poole forced the victim to have his initials tattooed on the victim’s body—to signify the victim as property. In August 2016, the victim tried to escape and Poole raped the victim as punishment.  

The trial commenced on April 23, before the Honorable Anthony Tatti in Marion County.  After four days of testimony, including that of the victim and Poole, the jury found the defendant guilty on all charges.

Filed Under: Soup Du Jour Tagged With: Attorney General Pam Bondi, human trafficking, Office of Statewide Prosecution

President signs bill to combat online sex trafficking

Posted on April 11, 2018

The president today signed a bipartisan bill aimed at curbing online sex trafficking by cracking down on websites that knowingly host ads posted by sex traffickers.

The legislation, cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), increases penalties for traffickers and gives law enforcement new tools to prosecute the websites that knowingly facilitate sex trafficking online.

“This should serve as a wake-up call for anyone operating one of these websites,” Nelson said after today’s bill signing. “We’re coming for you.”

The bill signing comes just days after federal authorities shut down a website known as Backpage.com and charged its executives with facilitating prostitution.

According to the human trafficking hotline, Florida ranked third in the country for the highest number of sex trafficking cases reported in 2016 and 2017.

Filed Under: Soup Du Jour Tagged With: human trafficking, legislation, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson

Florida Attorney General Bondi and Utah Attorney General Reyes Joint Statement on Passage of H.R. 1865

Posted on March 22, 2018

Attorney General Pam Bondi and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, both leaders in the fight against human trafficking, today issued the following joint statement commending the U.S. Senate passage of H.R. 1865:

“Today, we applaud the U.S. Senate for making the right decision and overwhelmingly passing H.R. 1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, in a 97 to 2 vote. This legislation will significantly support all state attorneys general and state prosecutors in their effort to hold online sites accountable for supporting the sale of sex trafficking victims.

“We thank President Trump and his Administration for working closely and proactively with Members of Congress, including our dedicated Florida and Utah federal delegations, industry experts and human trafficking survivors in the fight to eradicate sex trafficking across the country and around the world.”

Filed Under: Soup Du Jour Tagged With: Attorney General Pam Bondi, human trafficking, Joint Statement, Utah

Former Sen. Maria Sachs, former U.S. Attorney Pam Marsh, Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump Back Legislation to Combat Human Trafficking

Posted on January 22, 2018

On the heels of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day and the introduction of the Anti-Trafficking Trade Act at the federal level, former state Sen. Maria Sachs, former U.S Attorney Pam Marsh, and civil rights attorney Ben Crump threw their support behind proposed anti-trafficking legislation that would provide ongoing public education and a Florida reporting hotline. Sachs leads the Coalition Against Human Trafficking.
Bill sponsors Sen. Perry E. Thurston Jr. (D-Broward), Rep. Barry Russell (D-Broward), and Rep. Robert Asencio (D-Miami-Dade) led the event in support of their legislation to bring attention to the growing human trafficking epidemic in Florida.
House Bill 159 and its companion, Senate Bill 596, would require the Attorney General’s Office to establish a toll-free human trafficking reporting hotline and develop public education campaigns that would identify warning signs of trafficking and promote increased overall awareness of the issue. January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.
According to data on the National Human Trafficking Hotline’s website, every year since 2012, Florida has generated the third-highest number of calls to the hotline.
“This is a glaring reflection of the magnitude of the problem in Florida, and shows why the state needs its own hotline, one that is capable of focusing specifically on the unique challenges experienced here,” said Sachs, who during her time in state government served on a gubernatorial Human Trafficking Task Force and helped pass bills that combated the issue. “Human trafficking prevention requires awareness, so I am in support of these bills because they also ensure that the long-term fight against human trafficking will continue through public education.”
Marsh fought against human trafficking while serving as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida from 2010-2015.
“Florida is ground zero in the fight against human trafficking. Our state ranks third for number of total calls of tips to the national hotline from all sources,” she said. “We must draw human trafficking out of the shadows, and expose it to the full light of day. Only then can we eradicate it.”
Crump cited a Bureau of Justice Statistics report that showed 77 percent of victims in alleged human trafficking incidents reported in the U.S. were people of color. Research conducted by the Polaris Project, a leader in the global fight to eradicate human trafficking, revealed that those most at risk of being trafficked are people who are oppressed or part of marginalized groups such as undocumented migrants – largely people of color.
“Enslaving and exploiting human beings for profit did not end with the passage of the 13th amendment,” Crump said. “The business of using and abusing people – even children – to satisfy the sick needs and demands of those with means but no morals is endemic in our society, and people of color are still the most vulnerable victims of this kind of exploitation.”
Beyond education and reporting, Crump called on the Legislature to address the roles that poverty, lack of educational and economic opportunities, and growing up in high-risk neighborhoods also play in making marginalized Floridians vulnerable to human trafficking.

Filed Under: Soup Du Jour Tagged With: Ben Crump, human trafficking, Sen. Maria Sachs, U.S. Attorney Pam Marsh

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