‘Fastest growing criminal industry’
LAKE COUNTY >> In 2010, President Barack Obama designated January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. On Jan. 11, 2022, continuing the practice of calling attention to a worldwide tragedy, the Lake County Board of Supervisors passed a proclamation recognizing the first month of the year as Human Trafficking Awareness Month. For a number of reasons.
Human trafficking is a crime at all levels — local, state, national and international. It’s the buying and selling of people. It’s a form of modern-day slavery. It violates human rights. It involves recruiting, harboring and transporting a person of any age, race or gender using force, deceit or coercion for the purposes of labor, service or commercial sex for profit. It crosses boundaries. It is big business, estimated to be a $150 billion-a-year global industry. Human trafficking includes sex trafficking, labor trafficking, forced labor to pay debt, and child trafficking. “After drug dealing, human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest criminal industry in the world today, and it’s the fastest growing,” according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) labels human trafficking as a public health problem because it affects everyone — individuals, families and communities. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) website includes these descriptions: “Traffickers around the world prey on the poor, the vulnerable, those living in an unsafe or unstable situation, or are in search of a better life. Traffickers can act alone or are part of an organized crime enterprise. Trafficking victims are deceived by false promises of love, a good job, or a stable life and are lured or forced into situations where they are made to work under deplorable conditions with little or no pay.”
The DOJ says trafficking victims and traffickers in the United States are either American or foreign citizens, noting: “Some of the most vulnerable populations for trafficking in the U.S. include American Indian/Alaska Native communities, lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-questioning (LGBTQ) individuals, people with disabilities, undocumented migrants, runaway and homeless youth, temporary guest-workers and low-income individuals.”
The State Attorney General’s (AG) website provides estimates regarding human trafficking victims: “The International Labor Organization estimates that there are more than 24.9 million human trafficking victims worldwide at any time. This includes 16 million victims of labor exploitation, 4.8 million victims of sexual exploitation, and 4.1 million victims of state imposed forced labor. The victims of human trafficking are often young girls and women. Young girls and women are 57.6% of forced labor victims and 99.4% of sex trafficking victims.”
Human trafficking in Lake County
Human trafficking can happen in any community. That it happens in Lake County should come as no surprise, though it may not be as prevalent as in other cities and municipalities in the state. In recent years, California has led or has been one of the top three states (along with Texas and Florida) with the highest rates of human trafficking in the country. Data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline shows that a total of 11,500 cases from across the country were reported in 2019. Of those cases, in California, 1,507 were reported, with 1,118 related to sex trafficking, 158 to labor trafficking, and 69 to both sex and labor trafficking. According to the State Attorney General’s Office, “California is a top destination for trafficking in persons because of its significant immigrant population and large economy.” The number of reported cases belies the actual number of human trafficking occurrences because victims may be afraid to speak out in fear of retaliation, are ashamed, just want to put it in the past, or feel emotionally attached to their abusers/traffickers.
Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin told the Record-Bee he’s seen more cases of labor trafficking than sex trafficking in the county. He believes it’s likely due to illegal marijuana growing that persists despite the legalization of recreational marijuana sales and cannabis cultivation five years ago. “When we’ve gone to illegal marijuana gardens in the national forest (Mendocino), we’ve found Mexican nationals, men who are farmers who don’t know where they are and are forced to work the fields. They live in tents. They were told they had to work or they will be killed or their families will be killed.”
One of the cases that stands out in Sheriff Martin’s mind is “the girl in the box.” The box, according to media reports, was a metal tool box measuring 4 feet long, 2 feet high and 2 feet wide. An Associated Press news posting on July 10, 2019, indicated the 15-year-old runaway girl was shocked with a cattle prod, chained to a couch bed by her neck for three to four days, and forced into the tool box where she was kept for a total of three days.
Lake County District Attorney Susan Krones, who served as a child sexual assault prosecutor for seven years in the county, described the 2013 “girl in the box” case as “very horrendous.” “The case was investigated by the Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security,” Krones said, in an email. “The defendants were Patrick Pearmain and Ryan Balletto. They were part of an illegal marijuana grow in the county. They picked up the juvenile in Los Angeles and came to Lake County. They kept her in a box and she was forced to work on the marijuana grow. They repeatedly sexually assaulted her. Although we initially charged the case, we dismissed it so the U.S. Attorney’s Office could prosecute the case under federal law to get a larger sentence than available under California law.” The AP article noted that Sheriff’s deputies and Homeland Security investigators found more than a thousand marijuana plants and lots of firearms, including assault-style weapons, body armor, gas masks and a large quantity of ammunition on property owned by Balletos. In 2019, both perpetrators were sentenced to federal prison — Pearmain for 12.5 years and Balleto for 31 years.
A more recent case, Krones said, was the case of Lakeport resident Sam Lindsey Massette, who was sentenced to 20 years for false imprisonment and pimping. On the question of whether child pornography is a form of human trafficking, Krones replied, “Possession of child pornography is not directly related to sex trafficking but …is related in the sense that the videos and images on the Internet depict children who are victims of sexual assault and trafficking.” Most of the cases in the county that Krones is aware of involve residents.
Victim Witness Program
The investigation of human trafficking occurrences often involves the cooperation and collaboration of multiple law-enforcement agencies and the work doesn’t end when perpetrators/traffickers are found and arrested. Victims are expected to testify in court against their traffickers/captors/abusers while trying to recover from a physical, mental and emotional trauma. Despite the horror of their experience, not all victims are inclined to be cooperative and may need to be persuaded; some are even combative.
The District Attorney’s Victim Witness Division and the nonprofit Lake Family Resource Center (LCRC) are two organizations fully focused on crime victims and their needs. The Victim Witness Division offers support to crime victims, including human trafficking victims, through all the different stages of the criminal justice system. Victim Witness Program Administrator Crystal Martin said, “Many of our cases have a human trafficking element to them. At this office, we help provide a safe place for victims and find them shelter.”
Crystal Martin noted that the use of a multidisciplinary center has been a successful strategy in building trust between victims and law enforcement. She described the Child Advocate Center as a safe, warm, comfortable place where a victim is interviewed once by one trained interviewer, instead of being subjected to multiple interviews by different people, which typically is the customary practice. All those who have a stake in the case, such as the detective, lawyer and child welfare representative, are in an adjoining room listening to the interview and passing on questions to the interviewer, if necessary, Crystal Martin commented.
Additionally, Krones said, “Our Victim Witness Program does numerous outreach events throughout the year to bring awareness to child sexual assault, domestic violence and sex trafficking. We provide training to the Lake Family Resource Center on issues related to sex trafficking and child sexual assault. Our office is a partner with the center and we have signed the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Protocol memorandum of understanding along with other law enforcement agencies in the county. Public awareness through community events and the participation by our Victim Witness staff in these events is one way to increase awareness in Lake County.”
Lake Family Resource Center
Recognizing the work of the Lake Family Resource Center’s Human Trafficking Program and its coordinator, Kara Roberts, the Board of Supervisors’ proclamation states: “LCRC is instrumental in leading the way…in addressing human trafficking by providing 24-hour hotline services, and continuing support, advocacy and accompaniment to survivors and pre
venting human trafficking in Lake County…Our community is urged to support the efforts of the agencies assisting victims of human trafficking and urges all local governments, schools, businesses and community members to be aware and report any suspicious activity to local police departments and help shine the light on human trafficking.”
Marking its first-year anniversary this month, the grant-funded Human Trafficking Program today is working with 18 clients, mostly women, of whom 13 are sex trafficking victims and five are labor trafficking victims, according to Roberts. Through the program and its advocates, these victims are able get financial assistance, food and clothing, find shelter and are learning how to find a job. “I love doing this job,” Roberts said. “I love helping people and helping them feel safe.” She is putting together a human trafficking training program in the early spring exclusive to law enforcement participants.
At least 20 sheriff’s deputies are scheduled to take the day-long training course. “I think this will be good for us,” Sheriff Martin said. “It will help us become more victim-centered and shift from treating victims as suspects.”