There is a high correlation of this within human trafficking victims because it is often an indicator of vulnerability, but poverty alone is not a single factor or universal indicator of a human trafficking victim. The idea that if the trafficked person consented to enter into their initial situation or was informed about what type of labor they would be doing or that commercial sex would be involved, then it can not be considered human trafficking or against their will because they “knew better” is a myth. The fact is, initial consent to commercial sex or a labor setting prior to acts of force, fraud, or coercion is not relevant to the crime nor is payment.
Not all human trafficking victims are undocumented foreign nationals; in fact, a significant percentage may have
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Being as the task force in Alabama is not as strong as in our bordering states, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi, it has pushed this problem into Alabama because traffickers believe they are less likely to get caught.
Here are some recent events that have happened to bring trafficking to light. Santiago
Alonso is a 28 year old who was sentenced to 50 years in prison in Houston County for involving a 17 year old girl in human trafficking and giving her illegal drugs. Just this past week a 10 year old and her siblings were removed from their home by Child and Human Services because she was being forced to clean houses for no pay by her mother, right here in Enterprise, AL. The
Southeast Sun newspaper recently had an article written about a 9-year girl who was trafficked by her mother in exchange for drugs. Most eye opening was an event in California that has close ties to Dothan, Alabama. A Dothan resident was arrested in San Diego, CA on trafficking. He was a member of a gang called the Skyline Piru. The Skyline Piru stated that Alabama was a