(Bill Stamps, KUHF Public Radio)
The Harris County Attorney’s office and a local nonprofit are teaming up against local human trafficking operations. According to the Justice Department, 1 out of every 4 victims is brought through Harris County before being sent to other parts of the country. The County says shutting down the operations isn’t easy, so they’re hoping to use another tool — lawsuits.
…In a downtown Houston conference room, local attorneys listen to various members of law enforcement talk about human trafficking. They say many of the victims are made to work in massage parlors that are really fronts for prostitution.
RJ Hazeltine-Shed is with the nonprofit group Children at Risk, which co-sponsored the forum. “The victims come from every walk of life: they’re children, they’re adults, every race, every ethnicity, every socioeconomic background.”
Hazeltine-Shed says cracking human trafficking rings is difficult. Many times the victims who are brought from other countries don’t give their real identities. Officers go undercover and often make arrests for prostitution, but he says that doesn’t really solve the problem.
…And that’s where the lawsuit comes in to play. The hope is that more attorneys will help file lawsuits against the owners of the property where these illegal businesses operate.
(Hear the full story at KUHF Public Radio)
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