Taking on trafficking | News, Sports, Jobs – Times Republican

(Editor's note: January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month)

Although January is designated as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month each year, the work never stops for the people who are tasked with raising awareness, assisting victims and bringing the perpetrators of the heinous practice to justice.

Locally, that includes groups like Labor and Sex Trafficking (LAST) Watch, Assault Care Center Extending Shelter and Support (ACCESS) and law enforcement officers who focus specifically on human trafficking — within the Marshalltown Police Department, that includes Lt. Tricia Thein, Lt. Sadie Weekley and Det. Kraig Lageschulte. While horrific stories of human trafficking can often be found on front pages and national news broadcasts, it can often be more difficult to imagine it happening in one's own backyard.

Payton Handrahan, a homicide and violent crimes advocate with ACCESS, provided a recent example of a report she took about an individual who was potentially being trafficked locally. Handrahan reached out to the individual, who seemed nervous during the initial phone call, but later revealed she was being trafficked and didn't know what to do about it.

“Again, it's just kind of, it's out there. You don't know. It's people in broad daylight. You just don't know,” Handrahan said. “I don't know where (the victim) is at now. It's just kind of one of those things. You try to do your best at the moment, and you want to be there for them. When you're put in those vulnerable situations and you trust people, sometimes that trust is hard to break.”

Lynne Carroll, a member of LAST Watch, said a substantial percentage of trafficking victims actually have a relationship with the person trafficking them, citing a recent example out of West Des Moines where an Urbandale man was arrested and charged with trafficking his girlfriend.

“We know that there's a potential for that everywhere. The LAST Watch group really is about trying to educate people to look for the signs of what that is so that we can help identify that,” Carroll said.

Cristina Hernandez, a Marshalltown native who still resides in her hometown, recently joined ACCESS as a diversity advocate, and because she is bilingual, Handrahan sees her skill set as a huge asset to the organization. Hernandez said her goal is to help victims feel more comfortable and open up.

Noting Police Chief Mike Tupper's membership on the LAST Watch committee, Carroll said the group has enjoyed a “fabulous” relationship with the MPD, which is “very much onboard” with wanting to help keep people safe in the community and recognizing when it isn't happening.

Lageschulte took over as a domestic violence and sexual assault investigator with the MPD in September of last year, and as part of his new role, he is also tasked with anti-human trafficking efforts. Although he's relatively new to it, he's already learned a lot and identified some major “red flags” that could indicate an individual is being trafficked for labor or sex — not having many of their own possessions or identification cards and an inability to explain where they are.

He can't discuss specific cases or ongoing investigations locally, but Lageschulte said there were over 50 tips submitted to the state office between January and October of 2022. He is glad people are speaking up and showing a stronger willingness to support suspicious behavior.

“Yes, we do investigate those tips and cases here in Marshalltown and Marshall County as well, so yes, it does happen here,” he said.

Sex trafficking is probably the most widely known form of trafficking in the popular imagination, but Lageschulte noted that labor trafficking is also increasingly common. Because of Iowa's central location in the country and the convergence of two of the most highly traveled interstates, the detective said the state is in what he called a “hot zone” for trafficking. He also stressed that while immigration status is a federal issue — and he would support federal agents in their efforts — he hopes anyone will feel free to speak to local officers if they are being trafficked.

“The more awareness we can give, the better so that we can combat this issue,” he said. “The whole point of (trafficking) is to be unseen, so the more people that are aware of it and know what to look for to give these tips, the better.”

While the task of stopping human trafficking is a daunting one — and Carroll admitted that she faced questions of whether committee members would face personal safety issues as a result of their participation — it's a mission that means a lot to everyone involved.

“I believe that we are at a point where the education component can be something where it just helps people to see things differently that they would not have seen before,” Carroll said.

And if there's one message that advocates like Handrahan hope to get across, it's that it could happen to anyone, and it could be hidden in plain sight.

LAST Watch will sponsor a free event at the Marshalltown Public Library on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 5:30 p.m. with presentations from the MPD, ACCESS, Youth and Shelter Services (YSS) and Wings of Refuge. Training and educational materials are also available for businesses like hotels where trafficking is more likely to occur.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or [email protected].