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The U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking (USIAHT) is making an urgent plea for the state’s help to care for an oftentimes forgotten population: boy victims of sex trafficking.
The nonprofit runs the only safe house in the country dedicated to male trafficking victims under the age of 18.
TAMPA, Fla. — A penalty meant to punish sex buyers and help child victims is falling short.
I-Team Investigator Kylie McGivern spent the last four months digging into state and county records, following the money and found a disconnect between the arrest, prosecution and collection of a fine meant to help kids in Florida safe houses.
In the fight against human trafficking, a local nonprofit says there are forgotten victims — boys.
The I-Team went inside a Central Florida safe house that’s the first of its kind in the country, the only home serving boy victims of sex trafficking.
“They’re often a forgotten victim of trafficking because we don’t allow them to be the victim,” U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking (USIAHT) Executive Director John Long said.
Long runs the boys safe house for the non-profit, faith-based organization.
“We think that these boys are willing participants, that it’s a victimless crime, if the boy didn’t want to do it, the boy wouldn’t do it. But we know that that’s not true,” Long said.
A federal grand jury has indicted a Hollywood man and a Miami Gardens woman for the alleged sex trafficking of a 16-year-old girl.
Frantz Mersier, 30, and Paula Barboza, 25, are accused of offering a place to stay to the teenager who was a runaway from a group home, prosecutors said. According to court documents, Mersier took in the girl Dec. 6 and said she could sleep on the couch. He eventually had sex with the teen and set her up for prostitution in the three days that followed.
Barboza took naked photographs of the girl and posted them on websites known to advertise for prostitution. Then, Mersier and Barboza sold the teen for sex to four different men in Broward for $100 each. On Dec. 9, the girl called a relative and law enforcement came to get her later that day.
Miami Beach Police Department officers arrested seven men on Thursday night after an investigation that lasted weeks resulted in two search warrants at two apartment buildings along the 700th block of Jefferson Avenue in South Beach. On Feb. 17, a 23-year-old victim of human trafficking that was trapped in the area called 911 to ask for help just before a severe beating.
The victim told officers she was struggling with suicidal ideations and described how she had been trapped in a cycle of abuse, prostitution, and addiction since the coronavirus pandemic began, police said.
The Salvation Army is partnering with Catholic Charities to provide housing for victims of sex and human trafficking crimes.
The safe house is secure and not open to the public, but professionals provide meals, life-skill classes, and case management for the victims. The new grant gave Catholic Charities half a million dollars and a partnership with the Salvation Army which will allow them to house victims anywhere between 6-24 months.
Tampa, Fla. – Today, the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking (USIAHT) announced results from Project ReachOut to provide services to victims and potential victims of sex trafficking during Super Bowl LV week in Tampa.
Utilizing integrated online technologies to allow victims of trafficking and individuals at high risk of being trafficked, to reach local service providers, Project Reach Out distributed over 5,800 text messages resulting in 4,325 contacts with victims and potential victims.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office seized the opportunity and made a record number of arrests during the Super Bowl week, as well as the recovery of six individuals believed to be victims of human trafficking. Throughout the course of the investigation dubbed “Operation Game Over,” which started Monday, February 1, 2021 and ended Saturday, February 6, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested a total of 75 people who were seeking to either buy or sell sex.
Local governments also have backed efforts to prevent human trafficking and to raise public awareness about the issue, with county boards in Pasco and Hillsborough counties declaring January as human trafficking awareness month.
Natalie Kehn, director of outreach for the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking, works to cast a spotlight on the problem, to promote education and prevention efforts and to seek help for people who have been victimized by the crime.
The U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking would like to thank ABC News and Jackie Callaway for the opportunity to show the continued efforts we are doing with putting an end to human trafficking. The U. S. Institute Against Human Trafficking uses specialized software to find and reach victims virtually, said Natalie Kehn, director of operations for the organization, who runs its “Project Reach Out.” The institute uses the software to scrape tens of thousands of locally posted sex ads.
Finding new and innovative ways to combat the demand for purchased sex, raise awareness to this nationwide epidemic, and provide safe environments for victims.
