On March 14, 2018, Police arrested Oscar Carter, a suspected trafficker, at the Woodsprings Suites Hotel in Cranberry Township after receiving an alleged call from the FBI´s human trafficking task force. The arrested man was charged with trafficking in minors and, according to WPXI, was allegedly running his trafficking operation out of a room in the hotel. Carter allegedly had $1,700 on him when he was arrested and was also allegedly found with fake identification cards and a log book chronicling appointments with sex buyers.
WPXI reported that law enforcement was made aware of the situation by a juvenile who relayed her situation to the police after she was “picked up” in a Pittsburgh “prostitution sting.” According to the Tribune Review, the young girl allegedly stated that Carter drove her to Pittsburgh to perform commercial sex acts. The girl was allegedly recruited into trafficking out of Ohio, and was found in possession of a hotel key card.
While seemingly innocuous, hotel key cards—particularly multiple key cards—can be a sign of trafficking. Other signs of trafficking can include indicators of physical abuse, noticeable changes in appearance, tattoos with the name of an individual, or excessive monitoring by an individual who appears to be controlling.
It is important that community members are aware that trafficking occurs in their towns and that commercial sex acts are purchased by their neighbors. It is also important to hold accountable those who are facilitating commercial sexual exploitation, including those who purchase commercial sex acts and hotels or other venues that might turn a blind eye to the exploitation of individuals.
The CSE Institute applauds the efforts of police to follow-up on alleged trafficking situations, and hopes that the juvenile who allegedly provided the information is not charged with any crimes and is treated in victim-centered trauma informed fashion. The CSE Institute supports Safe Harbor, pending legislation which will codify into law that children who are sold for sex are not charged with prostitution or prostitution-related offenses and recognized as victims of child rape and abuse. Currently pending in our legislature is Senate Bill 554 – safe harbor for children who have been sexually exploited. This legislation is key to truly treating children as survivors, not criminals, and moving towards a world that protects – not prosecutes – victims.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.