1/11/2015 – OKC, OK — Today marks the ninth annual National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the United States.
JohnTV reminds visitors that the crime of human trafficking is very real and exists in every major metropolitan area in this country and throughout the world.
Locally, the video below is a collage of examples of prostitution and human trafficking in south Oklahoma City as seen through the lens of JohnTV’s own Video Vigilante Brian Bates…
As reported by JohnTV on Friday, Oklahoma City Vice officers and agents with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (human trafficking unit) arrested several people last week during an online sting targeting pimps in the metro.
As of Friday, at least four individuals had been arrested for aiding and abetting prostitution (one was also arrested for operating a brothel) and at least three others for human trafficking.
Despite raised awareness, Oklahoma still has a long way to go before we will have made a significant dent in the problem of forced sexual slavery.
The two primary concerns JohnTV has in Oklahoma’s ability to positively impact those victimized by prostitution and human trafficking are; access to social services directed at the victims and offenders, and a willingness to punishing offenders in a manner that adequately protects the public and dissuades recidivism.
Just last month JohnTV reported that Oklahoma legislators have been unwilling to allocate additional funds for human trafficking victims.
University of Oklahoma professor, Kirsten Havig, was a guest speaker at a legislative panel this past Sept. Havig was quoted in the media as saying “The second I start talking about resource allocation, it’s, ‘We can’t do that,’”
As reported several times by JohnTV, despite law enforcements continued vigilance in investigating and arresting offenders, locally, the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office continues to take a hug-a-thug mentality and often agrees to plea deals that result in tiny fines and returns the pimps and traffickers back to our streets.
Most recently, Oklahoma County DA David Prater’s office made a plea deal with a convicted felon and child rapist on the sex offender registry to only serve six months of probation and pay no fines or court costs in exchange for his guilty plea in a April 2013 prostitution solicitation arrest.
In December JohnTV reported on another head shaking plea deal by DA Prater’s office where a female pimp was allowed to plead guilty to pandering (pimping) in exchange for a $50 fine. This, despite the fact agents with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (human trafficking unit) had requested the woman be charged with rape, sodomy, conspiracy, unlawful proceeds, possession of CDS and human trafficking.
And finally, there is the case of the 21-year-old Edmond man who admitted to repeatedly prostituting a very pregnant 16-year-old out of an Edmond motel. Even though Oklahoma law says he should have served 10-years to life in prison, he was given only probation and the opportunity to have the entire case removed from his record in exchange for his guilty plea.
Until lawmakers and prosecutors take the crime of prostitution and human trafficking seriously, our children will continue to suffer the consequences.
What can you do?
- Let the Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater‘s Office know that $50 fines and probation are not acceptable forms of punishment for those who enslave our daughters.
- Let your lawmakers know you support the allocation of tax dollars to victim services.
- Support local organizations that are dedicated to the eradication of forced prostitution and the rehabilitation of those impacted by it.
If you or someone you know needs additional information on services or to report a tip, please call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888. If it is an emergency, please call 911.
