Sex traffic victims see only trickle of state $$
A state trust created five years ago to drive resources to sex trafficking victims has yet to award a single grant and has amassed just $16,000, prompting calls to tweak the “slow-growing” kitty and open it to a fresh jolt of funding.
It wasn’t until the Worcester District Attorney’s Office deposited a lump sum of $15,200 last December that the Victims of Human Trafficking Trust Fund reached its current balance of $16,431 — an amount state Sen. Mark Montigny blasted as “peanuts.”
“It’s a trust fund that should have millions of dollars in it,” said Montigny, a New Bedford Democrat and chief sponsor of the original trafficking bill. “There are assets somewhere. It’s not just the cash (the traffickers) have generated. But you have to be aggressive in the seizure.”
Established under the state’s 2011 sex trafficking law, the victims fund was designed to take fines and assets seized from convicted pimps and traffickers, and pour the money back into public and community organizations that serve those exploited in the sex trade.
But the fund has struggled to generate cash despite more than 30 convictions to date under the law, leaving victim advocates to rely entirely on federal funds.
Prosecutors and officials say the complicated nature of human trafficking cases, which can drag on for years through the courts, has slowed the available money.
Even when a criminal case wraps up, prosecutors often have to initiate a separate forfeiture proceeding, and victims directly associated with the case get first crack at the money before the fund, according to Attorney General Maura Healey’s office.
Last year’s lump sum deposit stemmed from a 2012 case in which two women were charged with trafficking after running an Oxford massage parlor that was a front for prostitution. They used newly immigrated women who spoke little to no English, according to authorities.
Lan Yun Ma and Wei Ma ultimately pleaded guilty to lesser charges and were sentenced to probation, and police reportedly seized money and a vehicle. The Herald reported earlier this week that the majority of trafficking cases are ending in plea deals to lesser charges, with the average sentence ranging between four and 5 1⁄2 years.
Liam Lowney, who oversees the trust fund as executive director of the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance, admits it has been “slow-growing,” but said his office has met grant requests since 2015 by using nearly $2 million in federal money tapped specifically for human trafficking victims organizations.
Lowney’s office and Healey have also pushed a bill that would funnel fines paid by those who buy sex, known as “johns,” into the account. That money currently goes into the state’s general fund, and Healey, in a letter sent to lawmakers, said changing the formula “sends the message that Massachusetts will not tolerate human trafficking.”
“Without comprehensive services, victims are unable to effectively exit trafficking and are at an extremely high risk of becoming revictimized,” Healey said. “This bill is an important step forward.”
Lowney called the state fund’s current balance “realistic” given the long slog of trafficking prosecutions, but said he’s pushing to add fines from convicted johns, whose cases often go far faster.
“We have the benefit of the federal money to be able to support (grants). But I think the fund could be tweaked,” he said. “We’d love to see a focus on the demand side of the market.”