World Games Human Exploitation Task Force announces arrests
A number of the people arrested in connection to human trafficking were booked into the Jefferson County Jail.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations says 34 arrests were made for commercial sex and six arrests for human trafficking during The World Games, which ended Sunday in Birmingham. The task force also made eight arrests of adults seeking online enticement of a minor and/or traveling to meet a minor for sex.
“I think for an event this size … or the Birmingham metro area, I think from a numbers perspective, we’re probably well up there [in comparison to human trafficking at other Sear 1 events],” said Doug Gilmer, Resident Agent In Charge for DHS. “We felt like we were going to be busy. I just don’t think we anticipated just how busy we would be. It’s been taxing.”
He says The World Games Human Exploitation Task Force has worked “pretty much non-stop” since June 23. A number of local, state, and federal agencies make up the command center including criminal intelligence at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking, and the Alabama Fusion Center, a state-level agency that shares information related to trafficking.
Gilmer said they saw an increase in what they believed was online recruitment leading up to The World Games. This led to multiple undercover operations that resulted in 34 arrests of commercial sex buyers.
“We’ve identified networks that are operating here that are also operating in other states,” he said. “So really cross-country from California to the East Coast.”
They also “rescued” multiple trafficking victims, Gilmer said. Officials described them as ranging from minors and pre-teens to victims in their 20s and early 30s. Gilmer said some are from the area, while others traveled from out of state specifically for The World Games. The task force also identified and/or provided services to:
- 15 adults and two minors that are sex trafficking victims
- 11 minors that are victims of online sexual exploitation and sextortion
- seven missing and endangered minors
- seven adults and four minors that are labor trafficking victims
“Not every case, not every operation that we’ve conducted has been geared towards necessarily arresting somebody,” he said. “A lot of the operations that we’ve conducted the last few weeks have actually been identifying potential victims of human trafficking. To us, that’s incredibly important.”
Carolyn Potter is CEO at the WellHouse, a Christian residential living facility for female survivors of trafficking. She said they’ve had four referrals from law enforcement in connection to The World Games. The majority were sex trafficking victims and one was a victim of labor trafficking.
Gilmer said the cases will now work through the legal system. They’ll be a mix of state and federal cases. He said prosecutors will see those cases through. Officials say it can take months to years to prosecute trafficking cases.
“I think the biggest takeaway is not the numbers, it’s the fact that people need to realize that this type of activity takes place here. Whether they want to believe it or not, it does,” Gilmer said. “It’s big business. It’s financially motivated. And as long as there is a demand by the consumer, by the sex buyer, it’s never going to stop. We’re never going to end it as long as there’s a demand for it.”
Venezuela’s exiles in Chile caught between hope and uncertainty
Initial joy among Venezuela's diaspora in Chile has given way to caution, as questions grow over what Maduro's capture means for the country — and for those who fled it.
Sunday Puzzle: Pet theory
NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer plays the puzzle with KAMW listener Daniel Abramson of Albuquerque, N.M, and Weekend Edition Puzzlemaster Will Shortz.
Inside a Gaza medical clinic at risk of shutting down after an Israeli ban
A recent Israeli decision to bar Doctors Without Borders and other aid groups means international staff and aid can no longer enter Gaza or the West Bank. Local staff must rely on dwindling supplies and no international expertise.
Iran warns US troops and Israel will be targets if America strikes over protests as death toll rises
Iran's parliament speaker warned the U.S. military and Israel would be "legitimate targets" if America strikes the Islamic Republic, as threatened by President Donald Trump.
Bob Weir, guitarist and founding member of the Grateful Dead, has died at 78
For three decades with the Grateful Dead and three more after the group ended following the 1995 death of his bandmate Jerry Garcia, Weir helped build and sustain the band's legacy across generations.
Nationwide anti-ICE protests call for accountability after Renee Good’s death
Activist organizations are planning at least 1,000 protests and vigils this weekend. Officials in major cities cast Saturday's demonstrations as largely peaceful.
