Daily Hampshire Gazette – Panel discusses local efforts to combat sexual exploitation of minors

GREENFIELD — Authorities in Hampshire and Franklin counties outlined Wednesday how they are combatting the sexual exploitation of minors as part of a community education initiative, with experts saying a special emphasis is being placed on combating the Internet crime.

“A lot of this information is Internet-based,” Northampton Police Capt. Victor Caputo said during a panel discussion following a screening of a “Frontline” documentary focused on sexual exploitation in Phoenix. “There are so many applications and… communication tools. I have a teenage daughter and, yes, they are on the phone constantly and it's a target-rich environment for people who want to engage in this behavior.

Caputo was one of several experts to speak at Wednesday's educational initiative that drew 40 residents to Garden Cinemas. Sponsored by the Northwestern District Attorney's Office and the Hampshire County and Franklin/North Quabbin County Child Advocacy Centers, residents watched “Sex Trafficking in America,” a 2019 film that follows a police unit special police force in Phoenix dedicated to eradicating sexual exploitation and, more specifically, the heartbreaking story of a 16-year-old girl named Kat.

The 52-minute film was followed by a panel discussion featuring Caputo, Assistant District Attorney Anne Yereniuk, deputy chief of the Northwest Attorney's Office Child Protection Unit, as well as Kayla Washington and Kelly Broadway, commercial sexual exploitation of children coordinators at both child advocacy centers. Also among the attendees was an unidentified local woman who survived sex trafficking perpetrated by her father.

“Self-esteem depends on the quality of a product,” the woman said, detailing her upbringing, which included attending 12 schools as a child, making it virtually impossible for friends, neighbors or teachers to notice a problem. “I would have been a very difficult child to help.”

Washington said the survivors she works with are typically 14 to 16 years old. Broadway said the youngest survivor she met was 11 years old.

An audience member asked the panelists about the similarities between what was depicted in the documentary and what is happening in rural areas of Western Massachusetts. Yereniuk said authorities don't patrol street corners to arrest sex workers — as shown in the film — but that “it's online, it's real life.” She also said there are law enforcement officers dedicated to fighting internet crime.

Yereniuk also mentioned how the opioid epidemic and housing crisis are fueling the problem of sexual exploitation.

“In order to prove human trafficking beyond a reasonable doubt, you have to demonstrate that there is an exchange of something for value,” she explained. “Something of value does not mean money. Something that means value does not mean currency. It could be anything.

Caputo said sexual exploitation perpetrators use mental manipulation to recruit their victims and keep them in a trap.

Among those in attendance were members of the Western Massachusetts chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse, an organization that protects young victims of sexual abuse. The bikers provide security and comfort to children who are going through the ordeal of the trial of their attackers.

Funding for Wednesday's screening came from a $60,141 grant from the state's Anti-Human Trafficking and Training Grant Program to educate mandated reporters, school personnel, medical personnel and community as a whole to the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The money will also fund training for local law enforcement with the goal of developing a regional cadre of investigators with advanced skills in obtaining digital evidence and the technological expertise needed to conduct complex crime investigations. human trafficking.

Contact Domenic Poli at: [email protected] or 413-930-4120.