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FBI
The
scourge of human
trafficking
Joseph S. Campbell
Deputy Assistant Director,
Criminal Investigative Division
Federal Bureau of
Investigation
Joint Statement with Anne
C. Gannon, National Coordinator for Child Exploitation Prevention and
Interdiction, Office of the Deputy Attorney General, Before the
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Washington, D.C.
September 23, 2013
Chairman Carper, Ranking
Member Coburn, and members of the committee:
Thank you for the
opportunity to present an overview of the work of the Department of
Justice (the Department) and its Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) to combat the scourge of human trafficking. As evidenced by the
broad spectrum of investigative, prosecutorial, training, outreach,
victim services, and research efforts by a wide array of components,
outlined below, the Department is fully committed to fighting human
trafficking.
Human trafficking, also
known as trafficking in persons or modern-day slavery, is a crime
that strikes at the very heart of the American promise: freedom.
Today, in this country, people are bought, sold, and exploited like
slaves each and every day. They are trapped in lives of misery—often
beaten, starved, and forced to engage in prostitution or to take
grueling jobs as migrant, domestic, restaurant, or factory workers
with little or no pay.
The most vulnerable among
us, including our children, are being exploited both online and in
person. Often targeted because of individual vulnerabilities, many
have already experienced abusive or troubled families, have
disabilities, or come from families with very limited resources.
In the hands of their
traffickers, these individuals will be subjected to numerous sexual
assaults and continued abuse.
The Department and its
partners are working hard to identify and support victims and bring
their abusers to justice. We provide significant resources, training
and technical assistance to our federal, state, local, and tribal
partners.
Enforcement: Investigation
The FBI’s efforts to
investigate human trafficking are coordinated by the Civil Rights
Unit (CRU) and the Violent Crimes Against Children Section (VCACS).
The CRU investigates forced labor; sex trafficking by force, fraud,
or coercion; and the sexual exploitation of foreign minors, while the
VCACS focuses on the commercial sexual exploitation of domestic
children under the age of 18. Sex trafficking prosecutions involving
children do not require proof of the use of force, fraud, or
coercion.
Innocence Lost National
Initiative
This year marks the 10th
anniversary of the FBI’s most prominent initiative to combat the
growing problem of sex trafficking of children within the United
States. In June of 2003, the FBI and the Department’s Child
Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) joined the National Center
for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to launch the
Innocence
Lost National Initiative (ILNI). While it is difficult to imagine,
the average age of a child targeted for prostitution in the United
States is between 11 and 14 years old. Once under the control of a
pimp, the proceeds of the commercial sexual exploitation of the child
are controlled by the captor, and attempted escapes often result in
brutal beatings or even death.
The FBI and its ILNI
partners execute Operation Cross Country—a three-day nationwide
enforcement action focusing on underage victims of prostitution. Our
most recent operation in July 2013—our seventh and largest such
operation—concluded with the recovery of 105 commercially sexually
exploited children and the arrests of 150 pimps and other
individuals.
This most recent sweep took
place in 76 cities and was carried out by the FBI in partnership with
local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and NCMEC. Over
1,300 law enforcement officers across the country have been trained
through the Protecting Victims of Child Prostitution Course at NCMEC,
which supports the ILNI.
Task force operations can
begin as local actions, targeting such places as truck stops,
casinos, street “tracks,” and Internet websites, based on
intelligence gathered by officers working in their respective
jurisdictions. The FBI has developed special teams and protocols for
prevention and enforcement actions surrounding large-scale sporting
events and other events of national interest.
By utilizing information
obtained through these operations and by building a strong rapport
with victims, the FBI often uncovers organized efforts to prostitute
women and children across many states. These investigations can lead
to local, state, or federal charges.
To date, the ILNI task
forces have rescued more than 2,800 children. Investigations have led
to the conviction of more than 1,400 pimps, madams, and their
associates who commercially exploit children through prostitution.
These convictions have resulted in lengthy sentences, including
multiple life sentences and the seizure of real property, vehicles,
and monetary assets.
In addition to the ILNI,
the FBI also coordinates the Violent Crimes Against Children
International Task Force—a select cadre of international law
enforcement experts working together to formulate and deliver a
dynamic global response to crimes against children through the
establishment and furtherance of strategic partnerships, the
aggressive engagement of relevant law enforcement, and the extensive
use of liaison, operational support, and coordination.
Through this task force, we
are working closely with our partners to reduce the vulnerability of
children to acts of sexual exploitation and abuse which are
facilitated through the use of computers; identify and rescue child
victims; investigate and prosecute sexual predators who use the
Internet and other online services to sexually exploit children for
personal or financial gain; and strengthen the capabilities of
federal, state, local, and international law enforcement through
training programs and investigative assistance.
Trafficking Exploiting
Foreign Nationals
Our CRU investigates
trafficking involving foreign nationals, which is often aimed at
recent migrants and other economically disadvantaged individuals,
particularly women and children. Preying on the vulnerabilities of
people seeking a better life, traffickers force migrants without
documentation or with precarious immigration status to work in poor,
unsafe conditions where they are exploited for prostitution, domestic
servitude, migrant farm labor, or toil in restaurants and service
industry jobs. Compounding the problem, the number of migrants
subjected to these types of crimes is underreported, as many fear
deportation or are afraid of retaliation against themselves or their
families.
Together with our law
enforcement partners at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),
appearing here today with us, as well as the Department of Labor and
the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, we are working
hard to combat trafficking in any form—not only because of the
physical and psychological toll it takes on individual victims and
their families, but also the profit generated by this exploitation
fuels further unlawful migration and organized criminal activity.
Through our efforts, we
work with other local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement
agencies and national victim-based advocacy groups in joint task
forces that combine resources and expertise on the issue. Today, the
FBI participates in over 100 human trafficking task forces and
working groups around the nation who work shoulder-to-shoulder in an
effort to combat the exploitation of individuals who work in
industries, such as agriculture and domestic service, and who are
forced into prostitution and/or slave labor.
The FBI’s many field
offices produce threat assessments to determine the nature and extent
of human trafficking in their areas of jurisdiction. They also
aggressively pursue human trafficking investigations and develop
actionable intelligence. This valuable information aids us with
future potential cases, and helps us to better understand the nature
and scope of the problem. And finally, these offices are charged with
building relationships with civic and community groups and
non-governmental organizations that can refer cases and provide
valuable insights and information.
FBI CRU’s pending human
trafficking investigations have increased from 167 in 2009 to 459 by
the end of fiscal year (FY) 2012. Since 2009, our investigations in
this area have resulted in 480 arrests, 336 informations and
indictments, and 258 convictions.
Enforcement: Prosecution
The Department’s
prosecution efforts are led by two specialized units—the Civil
Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, and the
Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, which
provide subject matter expertise and partner with our 94 United
States Attorneys’ Offices (USAOs) on prosecutions nationwide.
The Civil Rights Division,
through its Criminal Section Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit
(HTPU), in collaboration with USAOs nationwide, has principal
responsibility for prosecuting forced labor and sex trafficking of
adults by force, fraud, and coercion, while CEOS provides expertise
in child exploitation crimes, including child sex trafficking, and
works in collaboration with USAOs to investigate and prosecute cases
arising under federal statutes prohibiting the commercial sexual
exploitation of children and the extraterritorial sexual abuse of
children.
Taken together, USAOs,
HTPU, and CEOS initiated a total of 128 federal human trafficking
prosecutions in FY 2012, charging 200 defendants. Of these, 162
defendants engaged predominately in sex trafficking and 38 engaged
predominantly in labor trafficking, although several defendants
engaged in both. In FY 2012, the Civil Rights Division, in
coordination with USAOs, initiated 55 prosecutions involving forced
labor and sex trafficking of adults by force, fraud, or coercion. Of
these, 34 were predominantly sex trafficking and 21 were
predominantly labor trafficking; several cases involved both. In FY
2012, CEOS, in coordination with USAOs, initiated 18 prosecutions
involving the sex trafficking of children and child sex tourism.
During FY 2012, the
Department convicted a total of 138 traffickers in cases involving
forced labor, sex trafficking of adults, and sex trafficking of
children. Of these, 105 predominantly involved sex trafficking and 33
predominantly involved labor trafficking, although some cases
involved both. The average prison sentence imposed for federal
trafficking crimes during FY 2012 was nine years, and terms imposed
ranged from probation to life imprisonment. During the reporting
period, federal prosecutors secured life sentences against both sex
and labor traffickers in four cases, including a sentence of life
plus 20 years, the longest sentence ever imposed in a labor
trafficking case.
Civil Rights Division
Since the Department
created the HTPU within the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights
Division in January 2007, HTPU has played a significant role in
coordinating the Department’s human trafficking prosecution
programs. HTPU’s mission is to focus the Civil Rights Division’s
human trafficking expertise and expand its anti-trafficking
enforcement program to increase human trafficking investigations and
prosecutions throughout the nation. HTPU works to enhance the
Department's investigation and prosecution of significant human
trafficking cases, particularly novel, complex, multi-jurisdictional,
and multi-agency cases and those involving transnational organized
crime and financial crimes.
Consistent with increases
in trafficking caseloads across the Department, in the past four
fiscal years, from 2009 through 2012, the Civil Rights Division and
USAOs have brought 94 labor trafficking cases, compared to 43 such
cases over the previous four years, an increase of over 118 percent.
This is in addition to the substantial increase in the number of
adult sex trafficking cases prosecuted by the Civil Rights Division
and USAOs.
The HTPU, the Executive
Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), and multiple USAOs have continued
to lead the six anti-trafficking coordination teams (ACTeams) in
collaboration with the FBI, DHS, and the Department of Labor.
Following a competitive, nation-wide selection process, six pilot
ACTeams were launched in July 2011 in Los Angeles, California; El
Paso, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Atlanta, Georgia; Miami, Florida;
and Memphis, Tennessee. Since that time, the ACTeams, through
enhanced coordination among federal prosecutors and multiple federal
investigative agencies, have developed significant human trafficking
investigations and prosecutions, including the first multi-district,
multi-defendant combined sex trafficking and forced labor case in the
Western District of Texas; the first domestic servitude prosecution
in the Western District of Missouri; and the first Eastern European
forced labor case initiated in the Northern District of Georgia, in
addition to numerous other significant investigations and
prosecutions.
Of particular interest to
this committee, the Department and DHS have collaborated with Mexican
law enforcement counterparts on the U.S./Mexico Human Trafficking
Bilateral Enforcement Initiative, which has contributed significantly
to restoring the rights and dignity of human trafficking victims
through outreach, interagency coordination, international
collaboration, and capacity-building. Through the Initiative, the
United States and Mexico have worked as partners to bring high-impact
prosecutions under both U.S. and Mexican law to more effectively
dismantle human trafficking networks operating across the U.S.-Mexico
border, prosecute human traffickers, rescue human trafficking
victims, and reunite victims with their families. Significant
bilateral cases have been prosecuted in Atlanta, Georgia; Miami,
Florida; and New York, New York. To advance the interdisciplinary
initiative, the Department and DHS have participated in meetings in
both the United States and Mexico to ensure that simultaneous
investigations and prosecutions enhance, rather than impede, each
other. These efforts have already resulted in three cross-border
collaborative prosecutions, involving defendants who have been
sentenced in Mexico and the United States to terms of imprisonment of
up to 37.5 years, and resulting in the vindication of the rights of
dozens of sex trafficking victims.
Outreach and training
continue to be a large part of the Department’s efforts to combat
human trafficking. HTPU attorneys presented numerous in-person
trainings as part of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center's
State and Local Law Enforcement Training Symposiums. CRT, FBI, and
other Department components joined with the Department of State to
create an Advanced Human Trafficking Investigator course at the FBI
Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia for Central American law
enforcement officers. The program has trained investigators from El
Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama. The Department, DHS, and
DOL collaborated to develop and deliver the Advanced Human
Trafficking Training Program to the ACTeams, bringing federal agents
and federal prosecutors together for an intensive skill-building and
strategic planning to enhance their anti-trafficking enforcement
efforts.
Criminal Division
The CEOS’ mission is to
protect children from sexual exploitation by investigating and
prosecuting not only child sex trafficking, but also child
pornography, and extraterritorial exploitation of children. CEOS
conducts and participates in training for federal, state, local, and
international prosecutors and investigators engaged in efforts to
enforce federal child exploitation laws.
For example, in 2013,
CEOS’s section chief presented on best practices for investigating
and prosecuting child sex trafficking cases at a human trafficking
seminar in Riverside, California and participated in crimes against
children training conference hosted by the International Centre for
Missing and Exploited Children in Vietnam. Also within the past year,
CEOS attorneys presented at international conferences in Taiwan,
Mexico, Belgium, and Washington, D.C., providing training to law
enforcement, prosecutors, state officials, judges, and subject matter
experts from various disciplines in the areas of child sex tourism
and trafficking in minors.
In March 2013, Weylin
Rodriguez was sentenced to life plus five years in prison following
his conviction for forcing multiple minor and adult victims to engage
in prostitution and for various firearms offenses in the recruitment
of three minor females and two young adults to work in prostitution.
Rodriguez kidnapped some of his victims and lured others through
false pretenses followed by violence. After luring his victims, he
and two co-conspirators (aka his “bottom girls”), advertised the
victims for prostitution online, and forced the victims to solicit
for prostitution on the streets. Rodriguez kept all the money
received by the victims for the commercial sex acts. To prevent the
victims from leaving his prostitution ring, Rodriguez inflicted
severe physical beatings to create an atmosphere of fear. He also
threatened the victims with guns on numerous occasions and shot at a
customer in front of a victim. Rodriguez has several prior
convictions involving drugs and firearms, as well as a sexual offense
against a minor. The case was prosecuted jointly by CEOS and the
Middle District of Florida.
In May 2012, James Mozie
was sentenced to life imprisonment following his conviction in a jury
trial of eight counts of child sex trafficking, one count of
conspiracy to commit the same, and one count of production of child
pornography. At trial, several juvenile victims testified that they
either worked or were recruited to work as prostitutes for Mozie and
his girlfriend, Laschell Harris, from their residence in Oakland
Park, Florida. When customers arrived at the home, they paid a cover
charge to the security guard working the front door. The females,
many of them minors, worked in the house dancing for tips and
engaging in sexual activity with male customers for money. The seven
victims, all minors when the offenses occurred, testified that Mozie
required them to have sex with him as part of their “orientation,”
which he explained was his way of “testing the merchandise.” They
also testified that Mozie would take sexually explicit pictures of
them, which he attached to text messages advertising the brothel.
Also in 2012, Harris was sentenced to 156 months’ imprisonment
after pleading guilty to one count of sex trafficking, and
co-conspirator Willie Rice, who acted as a security guard for Mozie,
was sentenced to 48 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to
possessing a handgun while a felon. The case was prosecuted jointly
by CEOS and the Southern District of Florida.
Executive Office for United
States Attorneys
Consistent with the
Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012, all
USAOs established or participate in human trafficking task forces
(HTTFs) and collaborate with private partners in several ways. Eighty
percent of the HTTFs in which USAOs are involved include members from
non-governmental organizations. Participating private organizations
include community groups, faith-based organizations, victim advocacy
groups, academic organizations, medical professionals, and legal aid
offices. These private organizations provide various forms of
assistance to the HTTFs, including tips on women and girls who were
being trafficked, social services for victims, and training in
conjunction with USAOs.
Public Awareness, Victim
Services and Research
Federal Bureau of
Investigation
The Department does more
than investigate and prosecute those who exploit victims of
trafficking. For example, the FBI’s Office for Victim Assistance,
along with victims specialists from the USAOs and/or other
non-government victim assistance service providers, work with human
trafficking victims to advise them of their rights and to ensure they
get the help they need to address their short-term and long-term
needs—such as legal and repatriation services, immigration relief,
housing, employment, education, job training, and child care. Nearly
400 victims have been provided services as a result of Operation
Cross Country. With the launch of the Innocence Lost National
Initiative, the FBI task forces have encountered significant
challenges in identifying and providing services for these victims.
Often with histories of poverty, homelessness, and/or exposure to
violence and abuse, victims may have difficulties reaching out for
help or determining who they can trust. Juveniles who become involved
in sexual trafficking face myriad obstacles and enormous
needs—including very basic needs such as safe housing, subsistence,
and schooling—if they are able to leave that life. In addition,
they may need substance abuse treatment, medical treatment for
conditions like HIV/AIDS, and mental health services. Many face
impediments to reuniting with their family of origin, so they need
help to prepare for independent living.
Executive Office for United
States Attorneys
In order to prevent and
increase the reporting of human trafficking, the Department’s
Executive Office for United States Attorneys developed a public
awareness campaign with the cooperation of Polaris Project, a
non-governmental organization dedicated to combating human
trafficking. The campaign’s advertisements targeted ethnic groups
from countries associated with human trafficking in the U.S. An
advertisement was developed, translated, and placed in selected
newspapers in 18 cities for a period of two to three months during
the fall of 2012. The advertisements defined human trafficking,
explained that trafficking violates state and federal laws, and
encouraged readers who considered themselves to be victims of, or
witnesses to, human trafficking to call the National Human
Trafficking Hotline, which is operated by Polaris with a grant from
the federal government. Polaris provided statistics that showed a
significant increase in calls to the hotline from cities where the
ads were placed during the periods of time that the ads were running
in those cities
Office of Justice Programs
In FY 2012, the
Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and Office for
Victims of Crime (OVC) jointly made awards to seven task force sites
to execute a comprehensive approach to combating all forms of
trafficking, including sex and labor trafficking of foreign nationals
and U.S. citizens (male and female, adults and minors). BJA made
seven awards of up to $500,000 for 24 months to support law
enforcement agencies (one in each task force site) to coordinate the
goals, objectives, and activities of the entire task force in close
collaboration with the local USAO and the task force partner victim
service organization (one in each task force site) to coordinate the
provision of a comprehensive array of culturally and linguistically
appropriate services to all trafficking victims identified within the
geographic area affected by the task force.
OVC made seven awards to
victim service provider partners who participate on the task forces.
In total, $6,609,586 was awarded by BJA and OVC.
In addition to providing
direct services, OVC trafficking victim-service grantees across each
grant program work to enhance the community’s capacity to identify
and respond appropriately to victims of trafficking. From July 1,
2011 to June 30, 2012, grantees trained 28,462 professionals,
representing schools and educational institutions, faith-based
organizations and religious institutions, victim service providers,
civic and business community organizations, and state, tribal and
local law enforcement. The top five topics covered by grantees were:
the definition of human trafficking; identification of human
trafficking victims; procedures for reporting human trafficking;
services available to victims; and legal assistance for victims of
human trafficking.
During FY 2012-2013, OVC
represented the Department by serving as a co-chair along with DHS
and the Department of Health and Human Services in the development of
the first-ever federal strategic action plan to strengthen services
for trafficking victims. After extensive interagency collaboration,
the co-chairs drafted the plan and released it for public comment.
Over 300 comments were received, and OVC is working to incorporate
the public’s input. The plan is scheduled for release in January
2014.
In order to ascertain the
scope and primary methods of perpetration of human trafficking,
identify effective means of prevention, and maximize the impact of
available victim services, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
has maintained the most active research portfolio on trafficking in
the U.S., making dozens of research awards over the past decade.
Recent NIJ awards are tackling the toughest questions asked about
human trafficking, including measuring the prevalence of labor
trafficking, exploring the perpetration of trafficking and evaluating
best practices in service provision. For example, an ongoing
NIJ-funded project focuses specifically on one of the most
under-studied aspects of human trafficking: the relationship between
gangs and human trafficking. This project will measure the nature and
extent of gang involvement in human trafficking by gathering data
from four sources: victims who are assisted by social service
agencies in San Diego County, non-public law enforcement incidence
and arrest records, persons identified as trafficking victims and
perpetrators at San Diego middle and high schools, and the
traffickers themselves.
For FY 2013, NIJ is funding
a study focusing on the Somali-American diaspora and its involvement
in two transnational crimes: radicalization to violent extremism and
trafficking in persons. This study will build scientific knowledge on
these crimes with an emphasis on how transnational issues converge in
a context of profound community vulnerability and active criminal
networks. The co-occurrence of radicalization and trafficking in
disadvantaged refugee and immigrant communities warrants an
examination to better understand the transnational and convergence
issues involved, and how they can inform evidence-based community
practices.
Efforts to Combat
Trafficking Exploiting Tribal Members
The challenges the federal
government faces in developing and sustaining effective child welfare
and juvenile justice systems and providing effective services to
juveniles have been studied and documented at the Department and in
other federal agencies for decades. In April 2013, the attorney
general, acting on a recommendation from the Defending Childhood Task
Force, called for the formation of the American Indian and Alaska
Native Children Exposed to Violence Task Force (task force). In
recognition of the unique role the federal government plays in Indian
Country issues, a working group of federal agencies was established
as part of the task force. The working group will complement the
objectives of the advisory committee of the task force, which will
consist of non-federal experts in children’s exposure to violence.
The initial focus of the working group will be actions to improve the
federal response to the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native
children exposed to violence. This vulnerable population has been
identified as being particularly susceptible to being lured by
traffickers.
From July 8, 2013 through
July 12, 2013, the Department’s Office on Violence Against Women
(OVW) conducted a site visit to western North Dakota meeting with
local law enforcement, tribal leaders, victim advocates, the U.S.
Attorney for North Dakota, state and tribal coalition leaders, and
service providers from both North Dakota and Montana. OVW is
exploring providing funds to law enforcement and victim service
providers in western North Dakota and eastern Montana to address
domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and trafficking.
In FY 2012, BJA solicited
proposals to address the issue of human trafficking on tribal lands
by developing and providing training to build awareness of the
existence of human trafficking in Indian Country and providing law
enforcement and community stakeholders with the tools necessary to
begin the process of victim identification, rescue, and restoration,
while providing appropriate consequences for perpetrators in a
consistently applied manner. BJA received four applications through a
competitive process and awarded $305,000 to the Upper Midwest
Community Policing Institute (UMCPI) to develop and pilot the
training.
BJA will design and plan
the delivery of human trafficking training to tribal law enforcement,
which will begin a pilot phase of training by the end of 2013. BJA is
planning to seek additional funding to expand the number of sites
which can be trained moving forward.
In response to law
enforcement concerns about possible human trafficking on the Fort
Berthold Reservation in western North Dakota, the U.S. Attorney’s
Office for the District of North Dakota (USAO-ND), the FBI, and
multiple tribal organizations created a Human Trafficking Working
Group to address the abuse of women and children through prostitution
on the Fort Berthold Reservation. The work of this group resulted in
the April 2012 conviction of a New Town, North Dakota man on 16
counts of sex trafficking, sexual abuse, drug trafficking, and
witness tampering. The facts revealed at trial established that the
defendant had conspired to distribute marijuana around the Fort
Berthold Indian Reservation. As part of this conspiracy, the
defendant recruited minors and young adults to be part of a gang.
According to testimony at trial, the defendant also used physical
force and coercion to cause an adult female he had recruited for the
gang to engage in commercial sex acts on the Fort Berthold Indian
Reservation and in Williston and Minot. USAO-ND believes that
innovative, cooperative efforts, like the investigation that led to
this conviction, are essential to battling organized criminal
activity on the reservations.
* * *
The Department’s efforts
to combat human trafficking present a multi-faceted approach to a
multi-faceted problem. As a result, our efforts span from
investigation to prosecution, and are supplemented by an array of
investigative, training, outreach, and victim services carried out by
a wide range of components. Simply put, we are proud of the work we
do in this area, and look forward to continuing to have a leading
role in the government-wide fight against human trafficking.
We thank you again for the
opportunity to appear to testify here today, and would now welcome
any questions you may have.
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