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.
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.
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?”.
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!”.
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.
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.
“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.