Federal Agent: Human Trafficking Not What People Think – The Intelligencer

Brian Morris, an agent with Homeland Security Investigations, shed light on the crime, which he said can involve victims able to walk freely, at a program arranged by the Brooke-Hancock Family Resource Network with the cooperation of Brooke County school officials at the Bruin Bridge alternative school.

Morris said under federal law, human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to cause someone to provide labor, services or a commercial sex act.

He said victims aren't limited to illegal immigrants and have included people of various genders, ages, social classes, nationalities and ethnic groups.

Morris added perpetrators of human trafficking have come from a wide range of professional fields.

He said illegal immigrants have been recruited by drug cartels to carry illegal drugs into the country with a promise of help in obtaining VISAs and threatened with deportation if they refuse to work for others for no pay.

But other victims include children and teens who have been coerced into prostitution by predators who offer money and possessions and the promise of a better life, said Morris.

He said 85% of adult female victims of human trafficking were sexually abused as a child and 70% of them were subjected to incest.

Morris said human trafficking can occur in any community, without neighbors' awareness.

He spoke of a mother who “sold her daughter (for sex) to up to three men a night,” but the girl attended school regularly to deter suspicion.

Brian Morris, a special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, appealed to community members to watch for signs of human trafficking, which he explained is not what many people think, at an informational meeting Tuesday at the Bruin Bridge school in Wellsburg.

Morris said it's not uncommon for an adult predator to pose as an attractive teen on social media, encourage a young admirer to share explicit photos of themselves, then threaten to share the pictures with others if they don't comply with their wishes.

He spoke of a 19-year-old former cheerleader who sought out cheerleaders for prostitution because she knew such students have influence with peers.

Morris encouraged parents to teach their children to safely use computers and smartphones, never sharing personal information with anyone.

He said parents' daily lives can be stressful and their teen children can be difficult to deal with at times, but all children need emotional support.

“If they're not getting it in the home, somebody will give it to them,” said Morris.

Morris said tips can be made anonymously to the West Virginia Fusion Center at (304) 558-4831, adding the center shares information with local law enforcement.

Information about human trafficking, including submitting tips through e-mail, can be found at the center's website at https://fusioncenter.wv.gov.

Asked how many human traffickers have been arrested as a result of such information, he said, “There have been countless cases. This year alone, 10 or 11 juveniles have been rescued from sex exploitation.”

“When we all work together, the system works. When we don't work together, it doesn't and lives are lost,” said Morris.