The number of reported juvenile trafficking victims rose by 20 percent in 2018, while the number of adult victims decreased by 17 percent, according to data submitted to the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) for its 2019 report on human trafficking.
“This is here in our state. It is in Louisiana,” said Christy Tate with Department of Children and Family Services. “I think many times people associate trafficking as being somewhere far away, but it’s here. It’s in our backyards.”
A total of five people were arrested in New Orleans and St. Tammany Parish as a result of an investigation into sex trafficking in which police said girls who were being pimped out were also given tattoos, including a face tattoo for one girl that read “numb,” according to court records.
“We have to do everything we can to prevent and end the heinous crime of human trafficking,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards. “It’s the fastest growing and second largest criminal industry in the United States, with thousands of victims identified in Louisiana alone in recent years.
Louisiana State Police Troopers have rescued a 16-year-old girl who had been held against her will for several weeks and raped repeatedly by New Orleans, LA. 42-year-old Melvin Davis. Davis is charged with Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes, Third Degree Rape, Felony Carnal Knowledge of a Juvenile and more.
53-year-old James E. Johnson Jr. was arrested Friday morning in Covington, LA. for two counts of human trafficking, two counts of first-degree rape, and one count of sexual battery. Detectives received information Johnson had solicited sexual favors from multiple victims in exchange for bond debt relief and evidence of pornography involving juveniles.
Louisiana State Police arrested three alleged sex traffickers in New Orleans LA. after being called and finding a 16 yr. old girl that had been beaten, drugged, raped and “pimped out” by several different men in the past several days.
Louisiana State Police say they’ve arrested a fourth person in the abuse case of a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly raped, drugged and beaten. On Monday, police arrested 33-year-old David Perry and charged him with second-degree rape, trafficking a juvenile for sexual purposes and felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile.
Each year, thousands of people fall victim to human trafficking in the United States. That’s not including the thousands more that go unreported. Human trafficking, also known as modern day slavery, happens everywhere… Even in Acadiana. That’s why the St Landry-Evangeline Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force is raising awareness.
Responding to community outrage in New Orleans, LA. over what critics slammed as low bail amounts set for two sex-trafficking suspects, a judge Thursday dramatically increased the bail amounts after hearing graphic testimony from a State Police investigator. Magistrate Judge Harry Cantrell raised the bail for Jovan Martin from $20,000 to $350,000, and for Elbert Riascos from $90,000 to $900,000, declaring the suspects a “danger to the community.”
Finding new and innovative ways to combat the demand for purchased sex, raise awareness to this nationwide epidemic, and provide safe environments for victims.
