Ashley Moody pushes state to be more aggressive on human trafficking

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is touting a new statewide strike force's takedown of a human trafficking ring. Moody blames the federal government for the prevalence of trafficking and is pushing Florida to be more aggressive.

“Human trafficking is a terrible crime. »

Moody is known for her passionate opposition to human trafficking.

“And certainly in recent years, with the border wide open and the lack of enforcement of the rule of law as it relates to the border, it has been an even greater challenge,” she said.

On Thursday, Moody announced the dismantling of a drug ring in the Tampa Bay area and the rescue of 10 of its victims. She also announced the creation of the new Florida Human Trafficking Team, which is already assisting local law enforcement. Their latest arrest is that of Lina Payne, accused of recruiting women from South America with promises of jobs, then forcing them into prostitution to pay off their travel debts, often under threat of violence.

Florida ranks among the states with the highest number of human trafficking incidents in at least a decade, according to calls made to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. But Moody isn't happy with that hotline, so she created a state hotline that reports directly to Florida law enforcement. Moody criticizes Catherine Chen, who runs the national hotline with a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“Unfortunately, over the last two years, under this administration, the new executive director has decided to stop passing this information directly to law enforcement,” Moody said. “And as you can imagine, in Florida, we work cooperatively with and support the efforts of the men and women of law enforcement.

The national hotline has been around for 17 years and has served 75,000 victims and survivors 24/7. According to Chen, they report about 30 percent of their cases to law enforcement.

These include all cases of abuse, neglect, or trafficking of a minor, which are reported to child welfare as well as law enforcement…instances of violence or imminent threat of harm or death…if an adult victim of trafficking asks them to call…or if an adult victim asks someone else to call them.

Chen says the other 70 percent of their callers are typically looking for services and often call multiple times before asking. And callers often don't want law enforcement involved. The reason hotline staff put these decisions in the hands of callers…

“…it’s the loss of power and autonomy,” Chen said. “It’s the loss of the ability to make your own decisions. And that is the loss of the ability to control your situation.

Chen says many victims maintain relationships with their traffickers and even share children with them. And many traffickers know where their victims' loved ones live and threaten to harm them.

“What we are doing our best is to rebuild trust and rebuild power to act as quickly as possible,” Chen said. “And helping that person – who knows what’s safest for them, who knows all the different dimensions of what they’re dealing with – make the choices that are right for them.

Florida now has a new hotline, 855-FLA-SAFE, so people can report directly to law enforcement. The Florida House of Representatives voted unanimously for the bill that created it, and Gov. Ron. DeSantis signed it last month. In fact, the human trafficking reporting feature was added to an already established hotline that also reports food stamp fraud and gas pump fraud.

Moody urges the public to call law enforcement if they suspect trafficking, even if it's something he's not sure is significant…

“…and they will call, and we can solve a cold case.” Whether it’s a shift in consciousness or they feel like it’s more than they initially thought – call! It won't cost us any money to destroy it.

Moody says that with these tips, law enforcement can often review reports of suspected trafficking and put plans in place to rescue victims.

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The Florida Trafficking Hotline number is (855) 352-7233. The National Human Trafficking Hotline number is (888) 373-7888.

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