Analysis of Human Trafficking Cases in Rhode Island, 2009-2013

This article is an analysis of law enforcement identified cases ofhuman trafficking in Rhode Island from 2009 to 2013. Information was collected frompolice and court records, prosecutors’ press releases, and reports in the media. Duringthis period, there was one case of forced labor of a domestic worker and six cases ofdomestic sex trafficking. Many of the characteristics of the Rhode Island cases wereconsistent with other human trafficking cases in the United States. Discussions of keyfindings include (a) outcomes of a criminal case using a new human trafficking statuteon fraud in foreign contracting and a civil suit, (b) how online prostitution ads areused to market victims to sex buyers using ethnicity of the victims and age and socialstanding of the sex buyers, and (c) how mothers of victims are involved in locatingtheir daughters and making reports to the police that initiatedinvestigations