Feds in Maryland busy prosecuting human trafficking
Federal prosecutors in Maryland charged more defendants in human trafficking cases last year than in all but one other federal district — the Southern District of New York, according to a new study by the Human Trafficking Institute.
Of the 15 people charged last year in federal human trafficking cases in Maryland, 14 had charges related to sex trafficking. One person faced a labor-trafficking charge.
Across the nation, 297 defendants were charged in sex-trafficking and labor-trafficking cases in 59 federal districts, according to the institute’s report, which only looked at federal cases. It did not reflect state prosecutions for human trafficking.
Federal trafficking cases have skyrocketed since Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000, criminalizing human trafficking.
That year, there were only four federal human-trafficking cases, according to the Human Trafficking Institute.
In 2007, when the Justice Department created the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, there were 55. In 2018, there were 171 cases.
Robert K. Hur, the U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, said that though he hadn’t read the report, human trafficking is a priority for his office and that Maryland has relatively high numbers in part due to strong partnerships with local law enforcement and victims’ service groups. The state’s central location along Interstate 95 and the Eastern seaboard is also a factor, he said.
Many of the cases Hur said his office works on deal with the sex trafficking of underage girls. Their traffickers often use drug addictions or physical force to keep them under control, he said.
Virginia Commonwealth University criminal justice professor Jay S. Albanese said Maryland’s relatively high ranking also likely speaks to the dedication of its federal prosecutors in investigating and prosecuting these more complicated crimes.
Hur said there is significant human trafficking in Baltimore and that it is in part due to gang activity looking to make money.