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And this from the U.S....
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- A 15-year-old girl, thought to be either from Mexico or Guatemala, is the center of a human trafficking investigation.
"We may be seeing a lot more of this in our area," says the girl's attorney, Patricia Parker.
One reason for that is Florida is considered one of the prime states for the modern day slavery.
In the 15-year-old's case, she was found in a home in Jacksonville with five undocumented men.
Two of the men were arrested. Marco Maldonado, 25, is charged with rape. Jose Perez, 31, is accused of not helping the girl when she screamed out for it and then not reporting the crime to police.
"I've been dealing with juvenile issues for 14 years and I've never come across this situation," says Parker.
The girl, who cannot speak english, is far from alone.
"Underage girls are being brought in from Central America to serve as prostitutes or for sexual exploitation for other immigrants usually in a particular area," says Andrea Bertone, who works with the State Department in researching human trafficking.
Bertone says statistics show about 15 thousand women and children are smuggled into the United States each year.
But not all human trafficking victims are from outside our borders.
Many are runaways and homeless folks right in our area who are being sold for cheap labor or sex.
Bertone says Florida and Georgia are prime areas because of the high immigrant population as well as it being a large farming area.
As for the 15 year old girl, she is now in DCF custody and is getting counseling.
First Coast News
www.firstcoastnews.com/printf...ry.aspx
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- A 15-year-old girl, thought to be either from Mexico or Guatemala, is the center of a human trafficking investigation.
"We may be seeing a lot more of this in our area," says the girl's attorney, Patricia Parker.
One reason for that is Florida is considered one of the prime states for the modern day slavery.
In the 15-year-old's case, she was found in a home in Jacksonville with five undocumented men.
Two of the men were arrested. Marco Maldonado, 25, is charged with rape. Jose Perez, 31, is accused of not helping the girl when she screamed out for it and then not reporting the crime to police.
"I've been dealing with juvenile issues for 14 years and I've never come across this situation," says Parker.
The girl, who cannot speak english, is far from alone.
"Underage girls are being brought in from Central America to serve as prostitutes or for sexual exploitation for other immigrants usually in a particular area," says Andrea Bertone, who works with the State Department in researching human trafficking.
Bertone says statistics show about 15 thousand women and children are smuggled into the United States each year.
But not all human trafficking victims are from outside our borders.
Many are runaways and homeless folks right in our area who are being sold for cheap labor or sex.
Bertone says Florida and Georgia are prime areas because of the high immigrant population as well as it being a large farming area.
As for the 15 year old girl, she is now in DCF custody and is getting counseling.
First Coast News
www.firstcoastnews.com/printf...ry.aspx
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