CPSO juvenile detective shares complexities of fighting human trafficking
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'A lot of times these victims actually, I guess in a sense, look at the offender as a type of savior,' said CPSO Youth Services Detective Sergeant Mike King.
Sergeant King says the crime of human trafficking doesn't often start violently, it begins innocently.
'We don't have a lot of cases where it's this white van kidnapping people in the parking lot,' said Sergeant King. 'It's normally predators that get online and talk to young people and win them over.'
According to King, the cases the Caddo Parish Sheriff's office has investigated often involve one victim and one offender. He says in most cases the offender talks the teen into leaving home and coming to see them.
'Maybe they're saying that the parents at home are not treating them right. Or they're upset at the parents or the family at home. And this person again, has won them over. Told them a lot of what they wanted to hear,' said King. ''Hey it'll be better if you come here.' And they get them to leave a safe place to go to an unknown place.'
He says that's when the trafficking starts, whether sexual, being forced into work, or into committing crimes.
'And a lot of these offenders in a lot of these cases, like I said, it's not just trafficking. It can be any type of sexual abuse or sexual assaults, they start off as normal. A nice person. Whether it's a nice guy or a nice female, whatever the case may be. It's a nice person and they try to win the person over,' said King. 'And before you know it they get in too deep. And it's harder for them to get out.'
King says he knows the kids need the help and it's why the sheriff's office pursue the cases so aggressively.
'If you make a mistake, a mistake that you learn a lesson from is good versus getting in too deep with the mistake,' he said.
With two major interstates, I-20 and I-49, running through Caddo Parish, King says the area is ripe for human trafficking. While the sheriff's office handles the criminal side he feels the groups providing victim care are equally as important.
'There's a lot of different groups that provide long-term care. Help unite victim's with families. And provide other services for families so, it helps keep us all in one group and work as a large unit,' he said. 'Even if home is not here that we find some type of help for that victim to make sure that that victim doesn't feel like they're alone.'
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