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FBI
Stopping Human Trafficking
FBI Works with
Partners to Get Traffickers Off the Streets
Jaboree Williams was a pimp and drug dealer who brutally abused and
psychologically tortured his victims. And thanks to the joint efforts
of the FBI and local law enforcement, he will spend the next 30 years
in federal prison.
“He preyed on vulnerable women who were having difficult times in their
lives,” said Special Agent Maria Miller, who investigated the case out
of the FBI’s Milwaukee Division as part of the office’s Human
Trafficking Task Force. “He started by being more of a ‘Romeo’ pimp—he
would act like a boyfriend and make them think they were doing this for
their future as a couple.”
However, shortly after the women began working for Williams, he would
take all or nearly all of their earnings, beat them, and limit their
access to food. Williams also took the women’s identification, cell
phones, and money to make it difficult for them to escape. When one
victim tried to leave, he severely beat her with a belt and threatened
to kill her children. With another, he beat her beloved dog to keep her
under his control.
The investigation began in 2015 when a woman contacted the Racine
Police Department saying she could not find her sister, whose photo
appeared on a prostitution website. The police department collaborated
with the FBI’s Wisconsin Human Trafficking Task Force to begin an
investigation.
Racine Police Department Investigator Neal Lofy, who works human
trafficking cases for his department and also serves on the local FBI
task force, explained the importance of taking a collaborative approach
in human trafficking cases and using the FBI’s available resources,
such as administrative subpoenas of prostitution websites.
“Trafficking is a very transient crime; there’s a lot of movement
between jurisdictions,” Lofy said. “Partnering with the FBI and having
access to FBI databases and records, as well as the ability to travel
to other jurisdictions, has been very helpful in these cases. Also, the
clarity and penalties of the federal laws, as opposed to individual
state laws, ensure convicted human traffickers can receive the
punishments they deserve.”
In September 2017, Williams was convicted of 18 counts related to sex
trafficking, conspiracy to distribute heroin, obstruction of justice,
witness intimidation and tampering, contempt of court, and sending an
extortion threat. He received his 30-year sentence last December.
“These victims went through horrific things. It’s extremely rewarding
to know that they’re going to be more secure knowing the man who did
this to them will no longer be on the streets.”
Williams’ victims are now free to move on and recover from the things
they experienced, and that is the best reward for the case’s
investigators.
“These victims went through horrific things,” Miller said. “It’s
extremely rewarding to know that they’re going to be more secure
knowing the man who did this to them will no longer be on the streets.
We’ve also been able to see the victims rebuild their lives.”
Two of Williams’ known victims that the FBI and Racine non-profit
organizations provided assistance to are getting their lives back on
track. Both are working, and one is going to school.
“In these cases, you see the physical violence, the beatings, the
punches to the women’s faces. They are visual reminders of how
dangerous these guys are, and the mental coercion is a really sick part
of it as well,” Lofy said. “To see a woman who a year and a half ago
was being beaten, held against her will, and forced to have sex with
strangers and give up all the money—now she’s in school, working,
earning her own money, and living her own life. There’s a satisfaction
in that. That’s a true turnaround.”
Racine also takes what Lofy calls a “victim-centered approach.” Human
trafficking victims often need counseling, drug treatment, job
training, and housing assistance to truly escape their traffickers.
Lofy is the co-founder of a non-profit organization, Fight to End
Exploitation, that works to advocate for victims, connect them with
services, and educate the community on human trafficking.
Lofy said when he first began investigating human trafficking cases and
worked with the FBI on a previous operation, he saw the human toll and
the amount of support the victims needed to get their lives back on
track.
“We’re not looking to arrest the women in these situations—we’re
looking to help them change their lives,” he said.
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