Over 100 arrested in Florida human trafficking investigation
More than 100 people have been arrested in a Florida human trafficking investigation that focused on victims who might be forced into prostitution, a sheriff said Thursday.
The arrests were the culmination of a six-day undercover operation that involved several law enforcement agencies, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a news conference.
Those arrested were charged with a total of 29 felonies and 143 misdemeanors, including solicitation of prostitution and offering to commit prostitution, Judd said. Many had criminal histories that include charges for kidnapping, robbery, aggravated battery, and sex offenses.
Two men are charged with attempting to arrange sex with minors online, the sheriff added. The “minors” were actually undercover law enforcement officers.
“The “minors” were actually undercover law enforcement officers.”
Not to downplay arranging to meet a minor but, meeting a law enforcement officer by being entrapped? Where is the victim?
The crime is made up and the judges are falling for it.
Unfortunately Cherokee, “entrapment” is a legal defense that must be hashed out in court, and is not related to whether a contact crime could actually be committed, i.e. a real minor. Federal statutes include a phrase like “or intends to do so.” I suspect many state statutes do likewise. That is how LE gets away with stings involving fictitious minors. An intended attempt is sufficient.
Any entrapment defense must prove: 1) that the defendant was not predisposed to commit the crime (subjective entrapment); or 2) that police actions were enough to cause a normal law-abiding citizen to commit the crime (objective entrapment). Prosecutors love the subjective case because they can dredge up any bit of personal history in order to demonstrate a “predisposition” for the crime.
In either case, the burden of proof falls on the defendant in an entrapment defense. An enticing police sting is not entrapment unless one of the two cases can be demonstrated–generally by only a preponderance of the evidence. I followed a case in my state that was tossed due to the objective standard, and was appealed by the state. After 2 years, the decision was just yesterday affirmed by the appeals court. Sometimes the law works, but the poor guy must have been on pins and needles from the uncertainty.
Veritas.
ED C
When I worked in law enforcement they always tried to use me in some sort of stings because I looked like I was 12. I have always had a baby face (Age has finally caught up with me).
I always refused stating I signed on to catch people committing crimes on their own, they do not need help from us enticing them. Setting someone up is like putting out corn for deer so they can come around and you can shoot them. Easy pickings but illegal in most states.
So are deer’s rights more important that humans?
I agree totally Cherokee. I applaud you for not succumbing to the pressure to participate when you were in LE.
This was a vice operation, not a trafficking operation. No trafficking victims were rescued. No one was arrested for trafficking. It’s just a buzzword that attracts funds.
Nothing to do with human trafficking what-so-ever.
They have an agenda which is a quota to fill and of course, headlines to make to keep the machine chugging along and bringing in the ca$h.
No one is safer and no one was saved. Nothing of value was accomplished.
They caught people trying to traffic undercover officers.
Jacob
Too bad they didn’t succeed.(Catching undercover officers) They need to weed out more bad cops. One of the reasons I quit. I never wanted to remain silent but my job was on the line. I finally became a quitter rather than a rat. Some of the worst offenders I saw years later on the news making headlines for bad behavior, but rarely charged.
Isn’t this the same Sheriff that has these kind of raids on a regular basis but when someone follows up on it, the majority of the charges are downgraded or dropped all together. Just like everywhere else, all you see in the paper or on the news is the arrest and charges being levied, you never see the follow up article discussing the success of the operation. Mostly grandstanding for reelection.
alan
Yes, and if I was that sheriff, I would be embarrassed. With all the headlines he makes, it makes it appear his county has the worst sex offender pandemic anywhere in the World. “RUN Forrest Run!”.
Also read the few comments made by the public on the story. Things like “Never let them out”. Ok if it was an online sting and no real victims, why should they get life when someone who actually kidnaps someone doesn’t get life?
On a side note, if this person arrested was their relative, they would being screaming “They didn’t do nuth-ing, why are you harassing them?”.
I assume that most of those arrested were on the ‘human trafficking’s registry’. What?! There is no such thing! I didn’t think that if someone is not on a registry of some sort they were hardly worth the ‘time of day’. If our so-called government has its way, surely it can come up with registries of some sort that all US citizens will qualify for…except of course politicians and LEO’s.
Capt
Years ago when AIDS was first coming to light, they were trying to create an AIDS registry to track people who were spreading it. That got tabled as a violation of privacy. They then argued it would be only used for health officials but still got shot down.
This was in the 1980s, so before the internet really took off. It was to be more of a shared file access. But as we all know, the Government was using a form of the internet long before the public could.
I do I say I do believe mr Judd to be exaggerating a little. Here is why I say that . if any of those arrested had prior sex charges he would have made a big deal about how these were CONVCTED sex offenders who were released to go and pray on the good public and would have used his “did you hear what I said ” tag phrase to repeat it . and since he believes that once a offender always and offender and that people can’t change then he can’t either so he would have made a big deal of it. Once a fear mongering ,ecotistical clown always a fear mongering ecotistical clown
Yes, convicted sex offenders pray – they pray for an 11-year-old to get naked with them.
This from our Troll
Trolls help us display how stupid some people are.
The troll has taken on the name of my ex-wife (albeit a misspelled version) to show his desperation for attention seeking.
I can’t tell FAC what to do but it may be better off not publishing this troll’s comments, since he/she/it has no other agenda than to annoy us. It likes to imagine that every time we respond to it, we’re angry and crying and pounding our desks. Troll spends its day stalking me, Gail, or Vicki from WAR, bouncing back and forth between the three of us, making silly posts on its blogs and websites dedicated to us or doing some bad photoshop job that looks like something a tween edgelord would post thinking it’s funny.
No one pays any attention to it,and so in desperation, it comes here to try to stir the pot. I know some folks think they can reason with something like this. I don’t waste my time with that any more than I argue with a conspiracy nut. Don’t publish its droppings and ignore it.
Derek
What is odd is, I have had over 30 comments of mine over the years not be posted on here, and yet I have seen comments allowed from the “Outsiders” stating things like “All sex offenders should be killed”.
They state that since no one person was threatened, it was “Ok” to post. But you will probably never see this comment because freedom of speech obviously is subjective.
Troll thinks “sex offense” is only about children, eh? Idiot.
Go take a piss behind a dumpster and make sure people can see you do it. Then you’ll be accused of desiring 11 yr olds.
Please take your sick fantasies about naked 11-year-olds elsewhere. Sicko.
Either Brandi is joking or she is as stupid as a bag of rocks…not to offend the rocks.
I am a rock and I’m offended.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is offended.
I’m sorry if anyone confused “The Rock” with Brandi. There was no intention there. I like Dwayne so I would never want to offend him.
Capt
LOL, you know I was just teasing you. But I do think Rock Candy was offended, as well as Rock and Roll. Rock-paper-scissors say they forgive you. And my rock garden has been crying all day. :)~
Jack, I had no idea my comment was so offensive to so many. I had forgotten about the mother’s I may have offended when they sing ‘Rock -a-bye Baby’. It’s good that we can laugh about such stupid comments as those espoused by Brandi. You have a fine Navy day and be sure to avoid those ‘rocky shoals’ life can sometimes present.
Here is a good Rock:
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18:2
No one apparently has pet rocks any more.
And I wiould have thought the rocks in the troll’s head would be offended but then I’m implying there’s actually something besides empty space in troll’s head.