Attorney weighs in on human trafficking in Southwest Louisiana
He said kids, teens, the elderly and those with disabilities are most likely to be trafficked, and usually, there are signs.
A Texas man is in jail after being arrested for human trafficking near Iowa. A deputy with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office pulled over Kevin Ricks, 27, for a traffic stop. An investigation revealed Ricks was allegedly trafficking the passenger for sexual purposes.
While this suspect is now sitting in jail, a U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana explained why the Bayou state can be particularly vulnerable to human trafficking.
"It highlights the issue we have, given our geography that we have here and where we're located," U.S. attorney Brandon Brown said.
He said West Louisiana has two major interstate corridors coming from Texas: I-10 and I-20.
"A lot of people are trafficked on the border from Mexico, from Texas, from the western part of the United States, headed to the east coast, so we see a lot of people that are passing through or intending to pass through," he added.
Brown also added that there are other types of human trafficking, aside from sexual purposes.
"We also have forced labor," Brown told News 10.
Brown highlighted the case of a Pineville man, who was convicted of pulling children from school and forcing them to bake and sell brownies to support him financially, while he also sexually abused them.
He said kids, teens, the elderly and those with disabilities are most likely to be trafficked, and usually, there are signs.
"If you see an individual in a restaurant eating and they have two or three kids that they won't let eat, for example, that may be indicative of human trafficking," Brown said.
While January was Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Brown said it's an issue that happens every day.
"Stay vigilant. Keep your eyes open," he cautioned.
According to data from 'Stop Trafficking Louisiana,' 759 people were trafficked in 2021, with 530 children 17 or younger reported trafficked.