President Caitlin introduced Jacob Stahley who is a Captain with the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office (NY), assigned to oversee the Patrol Division and all special teams within the agency. With two decades of experience in law enforcement, Jacob has developed a wide range of expertise through various specialized roles, including Task Force Officer with Homeland Security Investigations and Investigator with the agency’s Criminal Investigation Division.
Jacob began his law enforcement career in 2006, serving part-time with both the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office and the Westfield Police Department. In 2009, he was appointed full-time as a Deputy Sheriff, where he went on to serve in multiple critical capacities, including SWAT Operator, Crisis Negotiator, Field Training Officer, Firearms Instructor, and Master Instructor certified by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.
Throughout his career, Jacob has been recognized for excellence and courage in the line of duty, receiving numerous letters of commendation and two Sheriff’s Medal of Valor awards. His passion for justice, commitment to service, and dedication to professional integrity continue to guide his work both locally and in partnership with federal agencies.
Capt. Stahley indicated that Chautauqua County is a hotbed for Human Trafficking. New York’s boundary with Canda is open and unmanned for many miles both on land in water. Smuggling is getting people into our country illegally; trafficking is involving people already in the country.
Sadly, children are easily moved throughout our country.
“Understanding Human Trafficking: Recognize, Respond and Prevent”
What is Human Trafficking?
- Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery that is present in every country of the world.
- Human Trafficking deprives individuals of their human rights and freedoms, is a global health risk, and fuels the growth of organized crime.
- It is estimated that close to 20,000 people are trafficked into the United States every year for commercial sexual activity or labor.
- Human trafficking is not restricted to major metropolitan areas; sex and labor trafficking victims are encountered in large cities, suburbs, rural areas, and on college campuses.
- New York State’s long international borders and several major points of entry make it a major destination point for trafficking victims, yet most survivors identified in New York (adults ad minors) were born in the United States.
- Human Trafficking is tied to illegal narcotics as the second most lucrative illicit enterprise in the world.
Human Smuggling vs. Human Trafficking
- Human Smuggling – the clandestine entry of people into the United State, facilitated by another party, involving the deliberate evasion of immigration laws.
- Human Trafficking – (sex trafficking) the advancing or profiting from prostitution by force, fraud or coercion and (labor trafficking) compelling or inducing another to engage in labor by force, fraud or coercion.
- Force, Fraud and Coercion:
- Force: unlawfully giving drugs to a person to impair his judgment; or using force or a plan or scheme to make the victim fearful that if they do not cooperate with the trafficker, the trafficker will (a) cause physical injury, serious physical injury or death to a person; (b) damage the property of the victim or another person (perhaps someone close to the victim); (c) kidnap or imprison the victim; (d) threaten the victim with criminal charges or deportation; etc.
- Fraud: this included false or deceptive promises or offers of employment, housing, assistance, green card, future payment, or love/marriage or a better life. One of New York’s first cases of labor trafficking involved a man who married a woman and then forced her into servitude for himself and his family.
Example:
- A federal indictment supporting the charges against Yannai (the defendant), who is married and lives with his wife, alleges that he used a ‘scheme involving lies, intimidation and manipulation to induce young women, mostly between the ages of 18 and 25, to travel to the United States so tat he could sexually abuse them” (People v Yannai [this defendant was prosecuted under New York State and federal law]).
- Coercion: False statements or misrepresentations about U.S. laws and consequences; threats of harm to the victim or their loved ones; confiscating or destroying papers and legal documents or requiring a victim to perform prostitution or labor or services to pay off a real or purported debt.
Example:
- “It is further alleged that when the victim threatened to contact authorities, the defendants vowed to concoct wild stories, accusing her (the victim) of committing various types of crime” (People v Jagota).
Significant factors of Human Trafficking
- Not voluntary: one cannot consent to being trafficked.
- Need not involve actual movement of the victim from one location to another
- Often not international; can and often does occur entirely within the U.S.
- Trafficked persons are victims and are involved in some form of prostitution or compelled labor or service.
Sex Trafficking and Prostitution
- Sex Trafficking:
Advancing or profiting from prostitution by compelling another to commit a commercial sex act through force, fraud or coercion
Refers to any compelled sex for money – such as forced prostitution
Law enforcement officers are generally familiar with prostitution.
Where prostitution occurs, sex trafficking is often discovered. The person in prostitution/pimp relationship almost necessarily includes sex trafficking.
Victims are forced to provide sex.
The pimp keeps all or most of the proceeds.
The pimp uses violence, threats and fraud to keep his victims working.
Pimps are experts at manipulating and finding a victim’s vulnerabilities
What may appear to be voluntary prostitution masks sex trafficking.
New York State Human Trafficking Law
- Labor trafficking
- Compelling or rendering another person through force, fraud or coercion to:
- Engage in labor or services; or
- Recruit, entice, harbor or transport another for the purpose of engaging in labor or services.
- Refers to anyone compelled to work regardless of profession, for example, white collar work like accounting, restaurant work, or on a farm or in a nail salon.
Human Trafficking Facts
- Trafficking victims are expendable
Some traffickers constantly renew their business with naïve victims. They treat injured or sick victims the way you would not even expect someone to treat an animal.
- Trafficking victims are easily exploited.
People can be manipulated and defrauded very easily
- Victims are plentiful
There is a constant flow of vulnerable people who become trafficking victims
- Victims are inexpensive to acquire:
There are many vulnerable individuals who can be acquire at little or very little ‘cost’ or investment of time. This is not the case with guns or drugs.
- Trafficking victims are easily transported:
Victims can be moved with little or no notice. Remember the definition of human trafficking and travel across a border crossing is not required for a situation to be trafficking
- Trafficking victims provide high profit and low risk
Drugs, guns and other contraband speak for themselves. With a trafficking victim, the trafficker can make the argument that he isn’t culpable. There is often the chance that the victim will be reluctant to testify against him. In the meantime, a small financial investment for basic food and clothes can yield a great profit margin.
- Trafficking victims are smart and easily trained –
It’s human nature to adapt very quickly when exposed to pain, manipulation or other methods of control
- Trafficking victims can NOT earn enough money to return to their home, money is tightly controlled by the trafficker. Often traffickers create false expenses for the victims so they cannot get out of debt to the trafficker – such as lodging, maintenance and transportation fees, concocted penalty fees, whatever they can dream up to keep the victim indebted.
VICTIM IDENTIFICATION
- Labor trafficking victims are often found in the following occupational areas:
- Agriculture/farm work
- Hotels
- Construction
- Landscaping
- Domestic work
- Factory work
- Sex trafficking victims are often found in the following arenas:
“Trap Houses”
Massage Parlors
Escort services
Street Prostitution
Pornography
Electronic media
Strip Clubs
Challenges to Victim Identification
- Basic mistrust of enforcement
- Fear of traffickers
- Traffickers train victims to lie
- Victim identity obscured by legal conduct
- Victims believe they have no options
- Owned or controlled by and “employer” usually by threat of mental or physical threats/abuse – assault, attempted kidnapping
- Has restrictions placed on his/her freedom of movement – stalking, unlawful imprisonment
THE LIFE OF A VICTIM WITHOUT INTERVENTION
A child in a home with sexual and other abuse or family conflict becomes a runaway. School problems occur and the child may turn to substance abuse where the child encounters deviant peers, may meet a pimp and become recruited and controlled. The perpetrators like to recruit kids and soon the child is enveloped in a life of crime and addiction.
VICTIM CONDITIONS
- They may have been moved to and from s number of different locations in a very short period or time and may not be able to recount (a) where they have been; (b) how long they remained in each place; or (c) the order in time of the places they have been.
- They may have committed unlawful acts.
- They may have had some freedom of movement.
- They may have failed to take advantage of opportunities to escape.
- They may have initially consented to job conditions.
- They may have been engaged in prostitution before involvement with the trafficker.
- They may appear angry or resist efforts intended to help them.
- They may be involved with gangs. In recent years gangs have become much. more involved in human trafficking.
Sex Trafficking vs. Drug Trafficking
- Drug “X” @ $20,000/kilo Sex Trafficking (1 victim)
- Purchase price $20,000 Purchase price - $0
- Cut the drug to make 2 kilos Sold 6 times/day at $50 per
time = $300
- Sell 2 kilos for $40,000
- Potential profit of $20,000 Sold 6 days/week = $1800/week
- Once the kilo is gone, you start over
Work 50 weeks/year = $90,000
Minus $20,000 expenses =
$70,000 profit/year/victim
VERY LUCRATIVE BUSINESS!!!
Today’s presentation by Captain Stahley was a very sad but necessary conversation about the human condition of our city, county, state and country. Pay attention to information about this topic folks, it is one of our Rotary District’s focuses for engagement this year.
