Analysis of Human Trafficking Cases in Rhode Island, 2009-2013

Faith Skodmin,Donna M Hughes,Rachel Dunham

doi:10.1177/2158244016655585

Faith Skodmin, Donna M Hughes + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016655585

Copy DOI

Abstract

This article is an analysis of law enforcement identified cases of human trafficking in Rhode Island from 2009 to 2013. Information was collected from police and court records, prosecutors’ press releases, and reports in the media. During this period, there was one case of forced labor of a domestic worker and six cases of domestic sex trafficking. Many of the characteristics of the Rhode Island cases were consistent with other human trafficking cases in the United States. Discussions of key findings include (a) outcomes of a criminal case using a new human trafficking statute on fraud in foreign contracting and a civil suit, (b) how online prostitution ads are used to market victims to sex buyers using ethnicity of the victims and age and social standing of the sex buyers, and (c) how mothers of victims are involved in locating their daughters and making reports to the police that initiated investigations.

Highlights

This article is an analysis of law enforcement identified cases of human trafficking in Rhode Island from 2009 to 2013
Several key findings emerged from the analysis of the seven human trafficking cases. These findings reveal insights into human trafficking perpetrators and human trafficking operations. They include (a) the outcome of a federal criminal case of forced labor in which a new anti-trafficking statute was used, and the outcome of a civil suit involving the same case; (b) an analysis of the online prostitution advertisements, including how victims were marketed to sex buyers using their ethnicity and how sex buyers of certain ages and class standing were attracted by the advertisements; and (c) how victims’ mothers were involved in finding their daughters and making reports to the police that resulted in the arrests of the traffickers
Sex traffickers utilize social media on the Internet to contact vulnerable women and teens and groom them to be victims (George, 2012). This analysis of sex trafficking cases identified in Rhode Island between 2009 and 2013 found that sex traffickers relied heavily on online prostitution advertising sites as a means to connect with sex buyers

Summary

Introduction

This article is an analysis of law enforcement identified cases of human trafficking in Rhode Island from 2009 to 2013. These findings reveal insights into human trafficking perpetrators and human trafficking operations They include (a) the outcome of a federal criminal case of forced labor in which a new anti-trafficking statute was used, and the outcome of a civil suit involving the same case; (b) an analysis of the online prostitution advertisements, including how victims were marketed to sex buyers using their ethnicity and how sex buyers of certain ages and class standing were attracted by the advertisements; and (c) how victims’ mothers were involved in finding their daughters and making reports to the police that resulted in the arrests of the traffickers. This later finding introduces a previously undocumented phenomenon that calls for more research

Method

Findings

Conclusion