On February 27, a federal grand jury issued an indictment accusing three men of allegedly conspiring, according to the Pocono Record, “with each other and others to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion.”. The three men—Arthur Taylor, Jordan Capone, and Jamiell Sims—have each been charged with four counts of sex trafficking stemming from alleged actions that took place in 2011 and 2014. The men also allegedly used “intimidation and drugs” to “coerce females to engage in prostitution” throughout the Monroe County area. It is alleged that the men posted advertisements about the individuals they were trafficking on the “adult entertainment section” of a website. Furthermore, the individuals are allegedly accused of membership in a gang where members were “beaten-in” or “sexed-in.”
The alleged facts of this case might give the appearance that trafficking always involves dramatic stories involving gangs, violence, and drugs. While these factors – particularly violence and drugs – are often present in trafficking, no two situations are the same. Trafficking occurs throughout the suburbs, rural, and urban areas alike and is perpetrated by individuals from all walks of life. Although many traffickers do use drugs as a tool to manipulate their victims, not all victims of trafficking get into “the life” because they have a substance use disorder. Rather, some become addicted to drugs as a way to cope with the physical and emotional trauma of performing multiple sex acts or become addicted at the hands of their traffickers as a means of control. Additionally, while physical violence is also frequently employed by traffickers, non-physical forms of violence in the form of emotional manipulation and threats are commonplace in trafficking situations.
Trafficking is a federal offense under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. In the State of Pennsylvania, trafficking is charged under Act 105. Unfortunately, commercial sexual exploitation continues to be a widespread problem in Pennsylvania. The CSE Institute applauds the efforts of Monroe County and the surrounding areas to target those who have exploited individuals for their own financial gain.
However, to effectively stop the crime of trafficking, it is essential to target those who are trafficking individuals, those who are purchasing commercial sex acts, and the websites that knowingly facilitate human trafficking. For this reason, the CSE Institute supports the Stop Enabling Trafficking Act of 2017 (“SESTA”), which will hold third party websites accountable for knowingly advertising or benefitting financially from a sex trafficking operation.
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.