Stacey Riley is the CEO of the Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence, an organization that provides services to victims of domestic violence and sexual crimes. She was on site for each night of the sting operations and says because the Mississippi Gulf Coast is in such close proximity to New Orleans, investigators were looking into ads on dating websites featuring women.
“They knew there's gonna be a lot of activity here on the coast for getting access to those who were trying to traffic people as well as those who were being trafficked,” she said.
The Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence provided immediate services and treatment to the victims recovered during the operation. Riley says most of the victims were initially in denial.
“The more time they spent with us in a different, more comfortable environment, the more they opened up about the kind of circumstances of what they were dealing with,” she said.
The victims came from across the country. Included among them was one child.
“Sometimes there are collateral damage that's there,” Riley said. “Sometimes there are people including children who were involved in human trafficking because it may just be because their mother is also a trafficking victim.”
Last week, Attorney General Fitch spoke with MPB about “Be the Solution,” a human trafficking awareness campaign she led alongside Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill ahead of the Super Bowl.
“Human trafficking is a form of modern day slavery to which people are profiting from the exploitation of others,” Attorney General Fitch said. “We see that as a $150 billion industry and growing, making it one of the most profitable illegal businesses globally. So unfortunately, it’s here in Mississippi, it's in Louisiana and we see it at big events like the Super Bowl.”
