Human trafficking is the second largest criminal enterprise in the world, just behind the illegal drug trade — netting billions of dollars annually, experts say.
But, it’s a crime that many know little about and often are unaware that it’s happening in their own backyard, said Cpl. Alan Wilkett, of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.
“When we talk about this problem, we’re not talking about a Mexico problem, or a Guatemala problem, or a Colombia problem,” Wilkett said, during a symposium on human trafficking at Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus, on Jan. 12.
“We have to look at our own communities and say, ‘What’s going on, around us?’” Wilkett said.
“Not too far from where we’re sitting right now, we have cases working. In Wesley Chapel, there was a house that was housing human trafficking adult victims,” he said.
“Just down the street from here, some folks who had been educated about human trafficking, interrupted two 15-year-old girls who were being snatched by a human trafficking predator.
Nationally, Florida ranks third in the number of human trafficking crimes — trailing only California and Texas, Wilkett said. Tampa Bay ranks second highest in Florida, in suspected cases reported to the national human trafficking hotline.
The law enforcement officer told those gathered about a case he worked that began as a traffic stop.
A van ran a red light, and when Wilkett stopped it, he discovered that it was filled with men. They were obviously laborers who had been working all day, he said.
“Nobody has paperwork,” he said. Finally, one of them calls someone and a guy arrives a few minutes later.
He tells Wilkett: “I am so glad you pulled them over. I just fired them today. I just found out today that they are illegal.”
The men had been working on a local construction project, hanging drywall.
“I knew we had a problem here,” Wilkett said.
Undocumented workers are often smuggled into the United States on the promise they’ll be given work and will be able to repay the person who smuggled them, the law enforcement officer said. But, despite working long hours, they never earn enough money to repay the debt.
Statistics on human trafficking vary, Wilkett said. He uses the most conservative estimate, which puts the figure at 20.9 million. That includes about 5.5 million children, he said.
Many people are aware that modern-day slavery includes the sex trade, Wilkett said. They may not realize how young the victims can be.
Minors are being rescued from sex trafficking, Wilkett said. “The average age that we are rescuing in the Tampa Bay area is 13. Nationally, it’s 12 to 15.”
Human trafficking goes beyond the commercial sex trade, Wilkett added. Forced labor includes such industries as landscaping, construction, nail salons, restaurants and agriculture.
Edie Rhea, a survivor of human trafficking and a woman who uses the pseudonym Amy, also spoke at the symposium.
Rhea was just 10 years old when her world was turned upside down by the man who claimed that she was his little princess. Her mother’s boyfriend began raping her, and then he began selling her to other men who raped her, Rhea said.
Amy said she was a single mother with a medically needy baby when she went to work at a strip club, and was then recruited by a pimp who beat her severely and used the threat of future beatings to keep her in his grip.
The symposium is part of a series of community seminars to help raise awareness about a variety of issues.
Natalie Epo, associate dean of academic affairs and retention services, said it’s important to put the spotlight on the issue of human trafficking.
“The reality is that it’s happening,” Epo said. “It can be someone luring your kids for jobs. They can say, ‘Hey, we have a job we’re going to send you to New York, or whatever the case might be.
“Unfortunately, they get trapped in this horrible system of human trafficking,” she said.
“We want to able to keep the community abreast about issues that are affecting them. We want to keep our finger on the pulse of the community,” she said.
Students at the state college also benefit from this type of symposium, said Rene Hensley, a teacher on the state college’s West Campus.
Hensley was there with her first-year licensed practical nursing students.
She thought they could become more knowledgeable about the issue and pick up some pointers on how to respond to a patient, if they discover he or she is a victim of human trafficking.
The speaker, Amy, who landed in the hospital more than once, offered a piece of advice on how to respond to a human trafficking victim: “It’s really about one human (communicating) to another human,” she said.
Karen Foster, of Dade City, and Diane Parker, of Zephyrhills, are volunteers who are committed to raising awareness about human trafficking.
“Our mission, as volunteers, is to make sure everyone knows about it,” Foster said.
Parker agreed: “We have to tell everybody about it. We live our lives, and we’re not aware what goes on. When you tell people, they are amazed.”
Published January 18, 2017
