Human Trafficking Victim Turns In Alleged Abuser

Bradenton, Fla. -- Human trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery, is a crime some victims are too ashamed to report.

The numbers are staggering. According to dosomething.org between 14 and 17-thousand people are trafficked into the US each year, generating $32 billion dollars.

Recently, a Manatee County man was arrested on human trafficking. Deputies arrested 41-year-old Juan Cruz Jr. after one victim turned him in to deputies.

“Bravo to her to have the courage to come forward,” said Bradenton Police Chief Melanie Bevan. Florida Governor Rick Scott recently appointed Bevan to the Governor’s State Council on Human Trafficking.

Read more from CBS10 Tampa Sarasota Florida

Sex Sting Leads To 277 Arrests In Florida

A cancer surgeon, a teacher, a pediatrician, an Air Force veteran, a retired police officer and a colonel in the Marine Corps were among the nearly 300 people arrested in Florida in a massive prostitution sting, police say.

The undercover human trafficking operation, which was called "Operation No Tricks, No Treats" and ran from Oct. 10-15, netted 277 people, according to a press release from the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

From US News And World Report

Cocoa Man Found Guilty Of Sex Trafficking Of Child

FLORIDA TODAY 5:44 p.m. EDT September 30, 2016

(Photo: File)

A Cocoa man has been found guilty of sex trafficking of a child, with force, fraud or coercion and production of child pornography by a federal jury, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.

Kennedy Harris, Jr., 23, of Cocoa faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. Sentencing in the case is slated for December 19.

Harris was indicted on May 11. The Ccooa Police Department came into contact with the victim in this case on February 10.

Read more from Florida Today

128 Suspects Arrested In Florida On Human Trafficking & Child Predator Charges

Winter Haven, Florida – Polk County Sheriff, Grady Judd, will brief the media this afternoon regarding a large scale, six-day long undercover operation targeting Human Trafficking and Child Predators.

At an undercover location in Polk County, Polk County Sheriff’s Office undercover detectives and Lakeland Police officers conducted a six-day long undercover investigation beginning Tuesday, May 31, 2016, through Sunday, June 5, 2016, which targeted Internet crimes associated with human trafficking and child exploitation.

A total of 128 suspects were arrested.  Suspects came from throughout Florida to include Miami, Orlando, Kissimmee, Altamonte Springs, Winter Park, Tampa, Lakeland, Davenport, Sanford, Merritt Island, Ocala, Oviedo, Tarpon Springs, St. Petersburg, Mulberry, Bartow, and Polk City; some were visiting the area on vacation or business from Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Read more here 

A Florida Man Indicted for Operating Sex Trafficking Enterprise

By: Department of Justice

May 11, 2016

WASHINGTON – Jeffrey Jason Cooper, 46, of Miami Beach, Florida, was charged late yesterday in an 11-count indictment in the Southern District of Florida with sex trafficking and attempted sex trafficking by fraud, wire fraud, importation of aliens for prostitution or immoral purposes and use of a facility of interstate commerce to operate a prostitution enterprise.

Read more from WCTV

Seven Arrested For Human Trafficking Of Juveniles At Motel In Athens - Florida and Georgia Involved

By Joe Johnson

updated Monday, March 21, 2016 - 5:28pm

3 comments

Authorities in Georgia and Florida this weekend arrested seven people and recovered two juvenile victims during a human trafficking investigation leading to a motel in west Athens.

The operation was spearheaded by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, acting on a call from someone in New York who said their 16-year-old relative contacted them to say she was being sold for sexual favors and would be with her captors at Days Inn on North Finley Street, according to Lt. Jeff Clark, commanding officer of the Sex Crimes unit.

Read more here