Aronberg joins state human-trafficking council
State attorney will represent Florida’s prosecutors.
Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg has been appointed to the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking.
The 15-member council was created by the Florida Legislature in 2014 to coordinate and enhance efforts to combat human trafficking and support its victims. Advocates for victims have c alled human trafficking modern-day slavery.
Under state and federal law, it is defined as soliciting, recruiting, harboring, transporting or otherwise obtaining another person to exploit him or her for labor, domestic servitude or sexual exploitation. State officials reported a 54 percent increase in the number of cases in Florida for the 20152016 fiscal year from the previous year.
There were 19 ver ified cases of human trafficking in Palm Beach County reported to the Florida Abuse Hotline between October 2015 and September 2016, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families. By comparison, there was one verified c ase in Martin County and four in St. Lucie County.
A task force involving the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office, Catholic Charities, Barry University in northern Miami-Dade County and federal, state, and local agencies will work together on the Palm Beach County campaign.
The sheriff ’s office and Catholic Charities recently received a $1.5 million grant over three years from the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate reports of trafficking in Palm Beach County and provide services to those who have been identified as victims.
Aronberg was named to the task force to represent Florida’s prosecutors and is the only member from Palm Beach County.
“It is an honor to join this important Council to attack this issue from a statewide perspective,” Aronberg said. “I appreciate the chance to work with Attorney General (Pam) Bondi and the other members to root out this scourge of modern day slavery.”