Prosecutor on Bob Kraft Case: Human Trafficking Is a Modern Day Slavery

ARONBERG: "You can tell a lot about our community by the way it treats its most vulnerable individuals, and that includes victims of human trafficking which is modern day slavery. Human trafficking is the business of stealing someone’s freedom for profit. Including — it could happen anywhere, including in the peaceful community of Jupiter, Florida. In 2017 our office joined with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI to help start a human trafficking task force. We are pleased with our progress, but we realize there’s a lot more to do. These cases aren’t about any one defendant or any group of defendants. The larger picture, which we must all confront, is the cold reality that many prostitutes in cases like this are themselves victims, often lured into this country with promises of a better life, only to be forced to live and work in a sweatshop or a brothel performing sex acts for strangers. Human trafficking is built on force, fraud or coercion. It is evil in our midst. It is also fueled by the demand side, demands from otherwise law abiding citizens who are not aware or don’t want to be aware about those being exploited. Human trafficking often occurs in plain sight, which is why I’m hopeful that these cases will encourage people to say something if they see something and for victims of this unreported crime to gain the courage to let their voices be heard."