LAW DAY 2013
understandably reluctant to reach out to law enforcement
for a variety of reasons – whether fear of the trafficker;
distrust of law enforcement; threats of reprisal to the victim
and her family; embarrassment and shame; or a simple
desire to move on with life and avoid public disclosure of
the ordeal. These obstacles are often amplified in cases
concerning foreign-born, non-English speaking victims
who are unfamiliar with our country’s legal system and fear
deportation and prosecution for having entered the United
States illegally. Frequently, foreign-born victims do not
approach law enforcement on their own initiative, but rather
are discovered through reports received by investigators or
from concerned citizens. NGOs help to bridge the divide
between these victims and law enforcement. For example,
during the victims’ initial interviews with investigators, these
organizations arrange for housing, medical, and other
services for them as a means of quickly stabilizing these
victims who almost always have no other support systems
available. In this way, NGOs have proven invaluable, given
that victims of human trafficking, in particular, feel isolated
from and shamed by their own communities as a result of
their victimization by the sex trade.
According to statistics recently compiled by the FBI, Atlanta
is also a hub for trafficking young women from Mexico.
Latino brothels advertise on business cards claiming to
offer “painting services” or “home repairs.” Young girls and
vulnerable women are moved from city to city and brothel to
brothel in an informal network of traffickers who want to bring
“new girls” to their business. In 2010, our office prosecuted
the case of United States v. Cortes Meza, et al. The case
involved a ring of five men from Mexico, and one man from
Uruguay, who recruited and enticed approximately 10 victims
to travel to the Atlanta, Georgia, area from Mexico and
compelled them to engage in prostitution with numerous men
on a nightly basis. Four of the victims were minors, between
14 and 17 years old; the men also brutally beat several of
the victims. The ring-leader of the organization received a
sentence of imprisonment of 40 years following a jury trial.
While much of our focus is on sex trafficking, we are also
pursuing forced labor cases. In one recent case, a victim
from