THE NATIONAL JUDICIAL COLLEGE

Transcription

1 THE NATIONAL JUDICIAL COLLEGE E DUCATION I NNOVATION A DVANCING J USTICE SPONSORED BY THE STATE JUSTICE INSTITUTE HUMAN TRAFFICKING: WHAT FLORIDA JUDGES NEED TO KNOW Professor Terry Coonan Judge Lynn Tepper OBJECTIVES: After this session, you will be able to: 1. Describe how the Trafficking Victim Protection Act of 2000 and Florida law have changed previous definitions of slavery; 2. Define how force, fraud, and coercion are employed against victims in modern human trafficking cases; and 3. Apply Florida s human trafficking statutory provisions to case studies. REQUIRED READING: PAGE Terry Coonan and William Brunson, Human Trafficking: What Florida Judges Need to Know (May 2014) [NJC PowerPoint]...1 S&I: HUMAN TRAFFICKING: WHAT FLORIDA JUDGES NEED TO KNOW WB/KZ JUNE 13, 2014 ORLANDO, FLORIDA

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3 Human Trafficking: What Florida Judges Need to Know Presented by: Professor Terry Coonan Florida State University What Is Human Trafficking? Forms of modern-day slavery that involve the exploitation of persons for commercial sex or forced labor Often involves crossing an international border but does not require movement Traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to control their victims A Human Rights Crisis Approximately 27 million people held in slavery worldwide Estimated 500,000 to 2 million people trafficked worldwide annually Estimated 15,000 to 18,000 trafficked annually into the United States 1

4 A Global Phenomenon International trends since late 1980s led to the rapid growth of trafficking: Increased ability by people to cross borders Increased poverty worldwide Result: desperately poor people immigrate to seek work Origin & Destination Countries The U.S. is one of the most popular destinations for human trafficking. The Natasha Trade Emerges in Eastern Europe 2

5 Trafficking of Asian Migrants by Snakeheads Becomes Lucrative International Business Children Are Routinely Enslaved in West African Cocoa Farms Children Are Also Exploited in Conflict Zones Around the World as Child Soldiers 3

6 Women Continue to Make Up 70% of the Victims Worldwide Migrant Farmworkers are Exploited Routinely A Lucrative Business Yields an estimated $32 billion in profits each year world wide An estimated $9 $12 billion earned in the United States 4

7 Organized Crime After drug trafficking, human trafficking is the most lucrative business for organized crime Unlike drugs, humans can be resold again and again It s Here in the United States It s Here in Florida 5

8 Trafficking: It s Here in Florida Florida ranks number three in the country for human trafficking cases (following New York and California) Florida has been the scene of the largest sex trafficking and labor trafficking cases in the U.S. Reported Florida Cases Cases reported of: Sex trafficking of U.S. adults Sex trafficking of foreign nationals Sex trafficking of U.S. minors Labor trafficking of foreign nationals & U.S. citizens U.S. and Florida Trafficking Trends and Cases 6

9 U.S. Sex Trafficking Trends 1. Agricultural brothels 2. Massage establishments 3. Internet based prostitution 4. Domestic minor sex trafficking ( DMST ) 5. Major Sporting Events 6. Delivery Outcall Services 7. Hotel Incall Services 8. Strip Clubs (1) Agricultural Brothels (1) Agricultural Brothels Cater to migrant male customers (farmworkers, construction workers, etc.) Bulk prostitution operations Victims often paying off smuggling debts Victims are moved frequently 7

10 The Waiting Room The Work Station Tools of the Trade 8

11 Cash Intensive Operations Victim Belongings (2) Massage Establishments 9

12 2011 Belinschi Case (Orlando) Women from Eastern Europe brought to work as prostitutes in Orlando massage parlors Investigators break case with videos taken during undercover operation (Colonial Drive) Exploited women from Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia Massage Parlor Roman Caraiman Fugitive at Large 10

13 (3) Internet-based Prostitution Prostitution 20 Yrs Ago: Streetwalking 10 Yrs Ago: Throwaway Newspapers 11

14 2014: Internet s Virtual Street Corner 2014: Internet s Virtual Street Corner Prostitution and sex trafficking have proliferated through websites Backpage allows 3 rd party users to post ads for $5-$10... Makes over $22 million annually 70% of profits from adult services ads Polk County Florida Internet Sting (Sheriff Grady Judd) 12

15 Operation Last House Call Operation Last House Call Internet child sex trafficking sting by Polk County Sheriff s Office 22 suspects encountered in the sting include white and blue collar workers, a member of the National Guard, a registered sex offender and a government contractor with top secret clearance. (4) Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking 13

16 Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Average U.S. age of entry into prostitution is now 13 years old Children are being groomed into prostitution Runaway and Throwaway Children: America s Newest Homeless Class Largest Number of Sex Trafficking Victims in the U.S. An estimated 100,000+ victims annually Many resort to survival sex 90% of female minor runaways come in contact with a pimp within 48 hours of leaving home 14

17 Domestic Recruiting Locations Schools Juvenile courts Malls Bus stations Glorification of the Pimp Lifestyle DMST Victims The Reality 15

18 DMST Victims Before and After Tattoo Branding by Pimps Tattoo Branding by Pimps 16

19 2011 Gordon Case (Jacksonville) 2011 Gordon Case (Jacksonville) 15 year old female runs away from juvenile treatment & rehabilitation center in Jacksonville Within 36 hours meets Ian Sean Gordon Is taken to a private residence and introduced to crack cocaine Gordon Exploitation Prostituted at Super 8 Motel on Phillips Hwy Victim kept naked in hotel room For 3 weeks is beaten, choked, brutalized, and forced into 50+ commercial sex acts 17

20 Gordon Victim Escape & Gordon Sentencing Girl escapes on 3 rd attempt and contacts mother Jacksonville Sheriff s Office & FBI investigate Gordon given life sentence by federal judge, citing his brutality and his manipulation of the victim with illicit drugs 2013 Rodriguez Case (Orlando) 2013 Rodriguez Case (Orlando) Dec. 2010: 15 year old girl visiting Ybor City with a friend is offered a ride home by pimp Weylin Rico Rodriguez Once in his car, pimp s accomplice Tatuana Joye hands him a gun Rodriquez tells girl, now you re a ho. 18

21 Rodriguez s Bottom Bitches 2013 Rodriguez Case Rodriguez told girl that if she made enough money prostituting, he would take her home to her mother Girl beaten by Rodriguez s bottoms and forced to street walk for the next two nights on Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando Rescued by Good Samaritan motorist who took her home to Apopka 2013 Rodriguez Case Investigation reveals that Rodriguez had previously romanced ( cupcaked ) or kidnapped other teens, forcing them into street prostitution in Tampa, Orlando, and Charlotte, NC Rodriquez tattooed many of his victims March 2013: Rodriguez given life sentence for child sex trafficking... Victims attend his sentencing 19

22 2013 Rodriguez Case (Orlando) March 2013: Rodriguez given life sentence for child sex trafficking Victims attend his sentencing and note how the power equation had changed (5) Sporting Events and Sex Trafficking Child Sex Trafficking & Sporting Events Major sporting events have become lucrative venues for sex trafficking of women and children Large groups of male sports fans with $$$$ provide demand Backpage ads reflect greatly enhanced supply & demand 20

23 (6) Delivery Outcall Services Prostitute is delivered to the customer Private homes, trailer parks, or customer hotel rooms are the venues for prostitution Meant to evade Law Enforcement brothel surveillance 2007 Melchor Case (Tallahassee) Prostitution delivery service operated by Colombian crime ring Multiple Florida locations (Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami, Tallahassee) Young women lured from over a dozen different Latin American countries 2007 Melchor Case 1 st major mobile brothel case in Florida (women delivered to trailer parks) Prostitution ring began in post Katrina construction sites Thrift store in Tampa used to launder the profits 21

24 2007 Melchor Case Business Cards Distributed Florida Wide 2007 Melchor Case Women were delivered to trailer parks for nightly prostitution (off Highway 90) 22

25 FDLE Phone Evidence at Trial 2007 Melchor Case Coercion by both male and female enforcers Exploited both consenting and nonconsenting women johns compelled to give testimony about the brothel network Completely different accounts between johns and victims at Tallahassee federal trial (7) Hotel Incall Prostitution Customer goes to the prostitute s hotel location Often internet driven Meant to evade traditional law enforcement brothel surveillance 23

26 Pimp Benjamin Benji Nelson 2010 Nelson Case (Orlando) 2010 Nelson Case (Orlando) Prostitution sting leads to discovery that U.S. citizen single mother is working for a pimp who takes her five-month-old infant every morning as collateral for a debt Pimp uses 16 year old female enforcer ( bottom bitch ) to coerce/intimidate the single mother Victim is advertised on internet for incall sex First jury trial charged under Florida sex trafficking statute resulting in a conviction 24

27 (8) Sex Trafficking & Strip Clubs A growing number of pimps are using strip clubs as a venue for sex trafficking Often involves a female recruiter or enforcer The strip clubs typically claim ignorance of the crime 2009 Vegas Showgirls Case (St. Petersburg) Vegas Showgirls Case Case begins with tip to Pinellas County Sheriff s Office Sexual assault report by a dancer at Vegas Showgirls Strip Club in St. Petersburg leads to discovery that a number of the club s dancers are being held in a waterfront home in Treasure Island Home was the rented residence of several pimps who were exploiting the women 25

28 Treasure Island Residence The Sex Trafficking Conspiracy Corinna Shaffer (a dancer at Vegas Showgirls) is allowed by Cornelous to live at his Treasure Island home in exchange for working as his prostitute, sexually servicing him and his friends, and acting as his recruiter Told to recruit other girls to dance and prostitute ( the more vulnerable the better ) Bottom-Recruiter-Handler Corinna Shaffer 26

29 The Exploitation Victims face extreme brutality and slave-like conditions in the Treasure Island home that LE investigators term torture Cornelous confiscates their cell phones, ID cards, and demands $1,000 each night in prostitution proceeds Women are raped by Cornelous in front of the others when they fail to bring in the nightly quota Prolonged Legal Proceedings Cornelous convicted in 2013 of sexual battery and human trafficking, and given 19 year prison sentence U.S. Labor Trafficking Cases 27

30 U.S. Venues for Labor Trafficking Private Homes Nail salons Farm worker camps Sweatshops Industry Strip clubs Hotels/Resorts Restaurants U.S. Labor Trafficking Cases The largest number of trafficking cases nationwide The largest number of victims Often occur in plain sight Often involve legitimate U.S. businesses U.S. Labor Trafficking Cases The two sectors of Florida s economy where forced labor most prevalent: 1. the agricultural sector 2. the tourism and hospitality industries Forced labor has also been discovered in Restaurants Golf resorts Private homes (domestic servitude) 28

31 The 2005 Evans Case (U.S. Citizen Labor Trafficking Victims) Homeless men & women recruited from Florida shelters to work Palatka farms Company Store model used to drive up worker debts Workers paid with alcohol & crack cocaine Evans Case Evans Case 29

32 Evans Case Labor Trafficking in Florida Hotels San Destin Hilton Case The Victims: Eastern European college students admitted on J-1 student visas Arrived with plane tickets that would cost $2,000+ to change 30

33 San Destin Hilton Case The Traffickers Eastern European Organized Crime Groups: Eurohouse (2 companies) Southern Amenity et al Sigor, Inc. ISS Inc., et al High Quality Services MVA Right Services EBS DarPol & AmPol Maint Panhandle Locations Southeastern U.S. Locations 31

34 2008 Paulin House Slavery Case (Miami) Exploitation of the Haitian restavec tradition Victim was brought as a young girl from a Haitian orphanage to the Cutler Bay Traffickers had administered the orphanage in Haiti A Study in Contrasts Haiti Cutler Bay, Florida 2008 Paulin House Slavery Case (Miami) Child exploited for six years as a house slave by Miami middle school teacher Maude Paulin Made to work 15 hours a day, 7 days a week Forced to sleep on floor, shower with garden hose in the back yard; never allowed to go to school 32

35 Miami-Dade School Teacher Maude Paulin Defense of Cultural Misunderstanding Jury Disagrees Paulin given 7 year sentence and required to pay $162,000 restitution 2010 Manuel Case (Boca Raton) Husband & wife Filipino subcontractors lure Filipino cruise ship employees to Boca Raton promising high paying land jobs 50+ Filipinos are held in a gated neighborhood and contracted out to the Boca Woods Country Club 2010 Manuel Case (Boca Raton) 33

36 2010 Manuel Case (Boca Raton) Upon arrival in Florida victims have their passports and ID documents confiscated Victims told that perpetrators have special relationship with local ICE officer 2010 Manuel Case (Boca Raton) Victims rescued when found begging for food outside a Catholic Church Attorney General Bill McCollum opens case as wage and hour violation Federal case follows, but only after several years Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) 34

37 Legislative Intent of TVPA Prevent HT overseas and within US Protect & help victims to rebuild their lives Prosecute traffickers with enhanced criminal penalties TVPA Background Meant to counter emerging trends in human trafficking nationwide Meant to legislatively respond to 1988 Kozminski Supreme Court decision (holding that slavery cases required showing of force or threat of force). TVPA = Victim-Centered Law Trafficking victims, even if in U.S. illegally, viewed as crime victims. Programs created to assist victims including immigration remedies. Benefits afforded refugees given to HT victims willing to assist in prosecution. 35

38 Human Trafficking Defined In U.S. law, human trafficking is now defined as criminal acts of involuntary labor or commercial sexual exploitation that are induced through force, fraud, or coercion Similar to the definition under international law (U.N. Protocol) Elements of Trafficking Force physical violence such as beatings, rape, shootings, starvation, or confinement Fraud can include false or deceptive offers of employment, marriage, or a better life Coercion can include Threats of serious harm to the victim, the victim s family, or another person Document confiscation Threats of deportation) Physical Force Not Required Physical force is no longer required Showing of fraud or psychological coercion now suffices Prosecutors now have new tools to prove up slavery in U.S. courts 36

39 TVPA Victim Protections Enable trafficking victims to: Obtain medical care, witness protection, housing assistance, other social services Obtain civil remedies for financial losses Sue traffickers for punitive damages New Immigration Remedy T trafficking visa created by Congress to give victims temporary legal status Victims must be willing to participate in law enforcement investigation The Collaborative Approach The anti-trafficking movement in the United States is made up of a unique partnership: 1) Law enforcement & prosecutors 2) Non-governmental service providers 37

40 DOJ-Funded HT Task Forces Florida Anti-Trafficking Statutes State Anti-trafficking Statutes The past decade has witnessed the growing passage of state antitrafficking laws nationwide In spring 2013 Wyoming became the 50 th state to enact human trafficking laws 38

41 Florida Anti-trafficking Statutes Florida enacted its first antitrafficking statutes in 2004 and has added to them substantially 2012 Bondi Bill greatly enhanced Florida criminal sanctions for trafficking Bills pass Florida Legislature unanimously Florida Anti-trafficking Statutes Florida s Criminal Code now defines and describes human trafficking offenses in one section of state law (787.06) All trafficking offenses are now 1 st degree felonies (up to 30 years imprisonment) and Level 8-10 Sentencing Florida Anti-trafficking Statutes Using Coercion for labor or services is a 1 st Degree Felony (787.06(3)(a)) Using Coercion for commercial sexual activity is a 1 st Degree Felony (787.06(3)(b)) 39

42 Coercion Defined (787.06(2)(a)) Use or threat of physical force Restraining or isolating a victim Use of debt servitude (where value of labor not reasonably applied toward a debt, or length & nature of labor not limited and defined) Coercion Defined (787.06(2)(a)) Destroying or confiscating immigration or identification documents (either actual or purported) Causing or threatening financial harm Coercion Defined (787.06(2)(a)) Enticing or Luring a person by fraud or deceit Providing a controlled substance to someone for purpose of exploiting them 40

43 Coercion for Prostitution (769.09(3)) Blackmail Threat to interfere with parental rts Exploiting developmental disability Exploiting pornographic performance Exploiting human needs for food, shelter, safety, or affection New Burden of Proof Anyone who knowingly or in reckless disregard of the facts engages in or benefits financially by receiving anything of value from trafficking can be prosecuted (787.06) Requirement that coercion be demonstrated in sex trafficking of minors now eliminated Florida Anti-trafficking Statutes All human trafficking offenses can be prosecuted as RICO offenses in Florida (as organized crime) (895.02) Office of the Statewide Prosecutor given explicit jurisdiction over trafficking cases (16.56) 41

44 Florida Anti-trafficking Statutes Interception of wire, oral, and electronic communications of suspected traffickers authorized (934.07) Definition of commercial sexual activity expanded to include production of pornography and sexually explicit performances (787.06(2)(i)) Florida Anti-trafficking Statutes Florida labor trafficking victims can sue their traffickers for 3x their financial damages ( ) Florida sex trafficking victims can sue their traffickers for 3x the profits made by their pimps ( ) Florida Anti-trafficking Statutes Asset forfeiture expanded: any real or personal property used in a human trafficking scheme can be seized by state Convicted sex traffickers now required to register as sex offenders For first time Florida law makes explicit reference to domestic U.S. citizen victims of human trafficking 42

45 Florida Safe Harbor Law (2012) Establishes that the dependency track rather than the delinquency track will be the standard approach in dealing with minors found to be engaged in commercial sex (domestic minor sex trafficking victims) Gives law enforcement the option (strongly encouraged!) of referring minors to DCF safe harbor facilities (with 24 hour supervision) instead of detention facilities Florida Safe Harbor Law (2012) Follows the logic that a child who cannot consent to sex cannot consent to commercial sex Meant to sever the trauma bond between the child and a pimp DCF tasked with meeting the service needs of sexually exploited children Florida Safe Harbor Law (2012) Raises solicitation fine in Florida to $5,000 (796.07(6)) First $500 will pay for drug treatment program costs and remaining $4,500 will be used to fund safe harbor shelters Law meant to both fund victim care and address demand side of prostitution 43

46 Florida Anti-trafficking Statutes Victims can now expunge criminal history incurred as a result of human trafficking ( ) Do so with the court of original jurisdiction over their crime Expunctions deemed to be vacated due to substantive defect in underlying criminal proceedings 2014 Legislation HB 7141 Creates new to implement Safe Harbor Law Calls for DCF to employ screening & assessment instruments to determine appropriate services for sexually exploited children 2014 Legislation HB 7141 Provides certification requirements for safe houses and safe foster homes Requires holistic trauma-informed care for minor victims Creates Statewide Council on Human Trafficking under the Office of the Attorney General 44

47 What Florida Still Lacks Private right of action (ability to sue traffickers for punitive damages) Communication Privilege for antitrafficking caseworkers Required ongoing training for LE & prosecutors Questions? Thank You! Professor Terry Coonan, J.D. Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights 45