HONOLULU — Prosecutors are calling the scourge of sex trafficking a form of modern-day slavery that touches every state in the nation, and they’re working to draw connections between active investigations around the globe at a summit in Waikiki.
Representatives from eight countries and a dozen states met to share details about cases of victims forced into the sex industry, hoping to collaborate on strategies to bring traffickers to justice.
“Sex trafficking internationally is somewhere between a $7 billion and $23 billion business,” said Cyrus Vance Jr., district attorney for New York County. “It’s second to international arms sales in terms of the scope of the crime and the money that’s involved with it. So it’s huge. And it’s in every community in America – whether we like to acknowledge it or not – and every country around the world.”
Prosecutors form from Canada, China, Japan, Palau, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand attended the summit, along with American prosecutors from Hawaii and states spanning the coasts and the Midwest.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.