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Volume 11 Issue 7
July 2020
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Human Trafficking in the News
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Man accused of soliciting woman to molest her 11-year-old child
in exchange for help with living expenses
TULSA, OK (
KFOR) -- A man was in federal court last week for allegedly soliciting a woman to molest her 11-year-old child in exchange for help with living expenses. Thomas James Heiner, of Langley, was charged by criminal complaint with sex trafficking of a child. During a routine traffic stop on May 16, a woman reported to the officer that on multiple occasions a man known as "Sasquatch" offered her cash payments, assistance on car payments, and a place to live if she would allow him to molest her daughter while the two adults had sex.
Father describes the pain after Mesa teen found dead along I-10,
warns of human trafficking
BUCKEYE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -
Adrian Walker is still coming to grips with the news that his 16-year-old daughter is dead. On May 22, a body was found on the median along Interstate 10 in Buckeye just west of Watson Road. Authorities later identified the body as Anaiah Walker
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Aggravating circumstances: How coronavirus impacts human trafficking
The coronavirus is not only claiming hundreds of thousands of lives, but is also causing a global economic crisis that is expected to rival or exceed that of any recession in the past 150 years. Although decisive action and containment measures are helping flatten the curve of infection, such measures inevitably deepen and lengthen the economic recession. Poverty, lack of social or economic opportunity and limited labour protections are the main root causes and drivers that render people vulnerable or cause them to fall victim to human trafficking. This unprecedented crisis will likely exacerbate all of those factors.
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Driver donates proceeds of tractor/trailer sale to TAT
An owner/operator truck driver has sold both his tractor and trailer and donated the entire proceeds -- $80,000 - to Truckers Against Trafficking. The tractor, a 2015 Peterbilt 579, with an 80" sleeper, and Great Dane trailer were listed on
Truck Paper
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"We are amazed by the generosity of this professional driver," said Kendis Paris, TAT executive director. "To sell and donate the entire proceeds of both tractor and trailer to TAT -- especially in the midst of a pandemic -- is above and beyond. He and his wife have our heartfelt thanks, as their donation will certainly help further the TAT mission in a significant way."
The professional driver, who prefers to remain anonymous, has been generous to TAT over the years. His gift provides an example of what others can do if they have used equipment or property to sell and want the proceeds from those items to make a difference in the lives of others.
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Audience feedback positive on Justice Seekers
survivor panel discussion
Justice Seekers, a one-hour, monthly webinar series for law enforcement, featuring expert panelists covering a variety of topics, held its first discussion on June 16, led by four survivor-leaders. Beth Jacobs, Sula Skiles, Liz Williamson and Annika Huff shared both their experiences and interactions with more than 125 law enforcement officers and other professionals. They also gave their best advice on how to engage with survivors.
"I want to thank you for your courage and willingness to share your stories in order to help me understand what is taking place throughout the country," commented Captain James Thomas of the Wyoming Highway Patrol. "Your experiences have helped me understand how to better approach potential victims and to focus my efforts on developing a rapport and showing more compassion. Thank you again!"
This series is designed to deepen understanding about victims of human trafficking, give practical steps on how to engage with them, present best practices for undercover operations and share case studies of human trafficking investigations.
Due to the sensitive nature of some of the material discussed, not all of the panel discussions will be recorded and available at later dates. Therefore, it is best to plan on attending on the scheduled dates and times of the webinars.
If you are a law enforcement officer and did not receive an email with registration links and would like to attend one of the next webinars, please send us an email at tat.truckers@gmail.com
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Digital toolkits available for bus, transit and trucking; others in production
Truckers Against Trafficking has released new
digital toolkits to aid trainers in the bus, transit and trucking sectors of the transportation industry when providing human trafficking training.
The toolkits define human trafficking, discuss the stages of the crime, provide the intersections these industry sectors have with human trafficking, detail the signs that human trafficking is taking place as well as give information on the human trafficking hotlines for both Canada and the United States. Additionally, they highlight best practices, offer simple lesson plans and share case studies.
"BOTL created these toolkits for bus and transit as a direct response to what we were learning from our industry partners in transit and pupil transportation," explained BOTL Director Annie Sovcik. "For transit agencies looking to launch an anti-human trafficking initiative to the student transportation directors wanting to educate their drivers on how to be on the lookout for signs of trafficking among the children on their buses, these toolkits provide step-by-step guidance for management."
TAT Executive Director Kendis Paris added, "For years CDL instructors and safety directors have been implementing our training inside classrooms. We wanted to create a helpful tool that not only assists a company in creating a comprehensive anti-trafficking protocol, but also provides instructors with a step-by-step lesson plan to guide
the training process."
Upcoming toolkits currently being created are for energy, travel plazas/truck stops and state agencies working with transportation. Completed toolkits are found on the TAT website under
Resources/TAT materials
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TAT Coalition Build program continues working
with select audiences and teams
to
close loopholes to traffickers
As public health concerns around large group gatherings continue, TAT's Coalition Build (CB) program has constructed a virtual bridge-event option until in-person CBs can resume. This summer, TAT will be co-hosting an online bridge event with the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia and the American Trucking Association.
While the exact date of the event is still undetermined, this 90-minute, live, online event will feature a Human Trafficking 101 led by the DC Attorney General's Office, a survivor testimony, a law enforcement panel that will discuss actual case studies and trends they are seeing locally and, finally, breakout sessions for the trucking and bus industries. During the breakout sessions, attendees will have the opportunity to learn about industry-specific training, targeted action steps and ways law enforcement and industry can create a local response to combat human trafficking. For more information about this event, click here:
Additionally, the Coalition Build team has been working on a campaign to connect with state and regional human trafficking task forces across the country to resource transportation providers and law enforcement with TAT materials in areas where TAT is working to build connections. To date, the CB team has generated 23 opportunities for engagement, which include introductions to transit providers, the distribution of TAT's law enforcement video and anti-demand resources, strategic planning of future CBs, introductions to school transportation leadership, invitations for TAT's in-person law enforcement training and a virtual presentation to the Fresno Human Trafficking Conference on July 15.
"Human trafficking task forces across the country are building infrastructure to fight human trafficking, and TAT hopes to come alongside those efforts, offering our targeted training and resources in order to help disrupt and dismantle traffickers," explained Esther Goetsch, TAT CB director.
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TAT's work is made possible through the generous support of our corporate sponsors, foundation partners and individual donors. Our education, training, legislative engagement, and advocacy efforts would not exist without those who invest in the change that we work towards each day. If you are interested in learning more about how you can provide financial support, please visit our corporate engagement webpage
or contact Laura Cyrus at
612-888-4828 or lcyrus@truckersagainsttrafficking.org to explore our giving opportunities.
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Diamond:
Douglas Kegler
Platinum:
Anonymous
Gold:
Michael Horton, Jonathan and Jill Lim, Bob Paris, Andy and Karin Larsen
Silver:
Lou and Ronda Leeburg,
Scott and Terry
Koch, Grinnell Family
Bronze:
Scott Perry,
Mark and Julie Mihevc, Anna McCoy,
Linda Burtwistle
Copper:
George Cravens,
Patti Gillette, Craig Kaplan, Dan and Emily Dykstra, John McKown, Mr and Mrs Matty Moroun, Kevin and Michele Kalczynski, Rich McArdle, Anne Moroun, Ken Johnson, Mike and Karen Kuykendall, Sarah Roark, Eric and Sarah Jorgensen, Matthew Bleach
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Truckers Against Trafficking
PO Box 816 | Englewood, CO 80151
tat.truckers@gmail.com
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