May 20 2008
Kentucky and Florida and Colorado, oh my: Current U.S. slavery prosecutions
The U.S. seems to be moving a little bit on slavery prosecutions this month.
- In Lexington, Kentucky, human trafficking suspect Calvin Walker has been indicted by a grand jury for forcing two domestically trafficked women into strip club work, as this video report on KKYT in Lexington shows. It’s usually difficult to prove cases of trafficking in the U.S., even when women are forced across state lines or national borders, and when law enforcement nails traffickers they often end up charging them with other offenses. It’s relatively unusual to prosecute for human trafficking
- The Immokalee drama continues in South Florida. Jose Navarrete pled guilty to human slavery, according to WINK News. Navarrete is accused of forcing Mexican and Guatemalan immigrants to work without pay, sleep in box trucks and shacks, and pay for food and showers in Immokalee.
- Two owners of a Denver sushi restaurant are accused of holding workers in “indentured servitude” for years, ABC Channel 7 in Denver reports.
