Aurora police unit recovers 29 trafficking survivors in first year

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 8 Oct, 18:13 · Archive

Aurora Police Department's Human Trafficking Unit recovered 29 survivors, including 15 minors, in its first year.

The Aurora Police Department's Human Trafficking Unit recovered 29 survivors, including 15 minors, and arrested 28 suspects in its first year. The unit opened 53 investigations during that period. Sergeant Joseph Sullivan said the work is exposing abuse that residents may not realise is happening in their community. According to the US Department of Homeland Security, human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain labour or commercial sex acts.

Sullivan described how traffickers exploit children's vulnerabilities. He recounted the case of a 16-year-old girl brought to Aurora, a city of just over 400,000 people outside Denver, by her boyfriend, who then abandoned her. To survive, she was sexually exploited by people around an apartment complex in exchange for shelter, drugs or food. During an interview with detectives, she said: 'I really hope that you can find the people that are doing this, because it really hurts what I'm having to do just to survive.' The girl died of an overdose a few months later.

Sullivan emphasised the difficulty survivors face even after intervention. He said it is 'satisfying' to identify and hold accountable those exploiting survivors, but reaching someone does not guarantee an immediate or lasting escape.

How it is being reported

• Inside how human traffickers exploit vulnerable kids’ needs: ‘That’s how they get in’In its first year, the Aurora Police Department's Human Trafficking Unit recovered 29 survivors, including 15 minors, and arrested 28 suspects.New York Post · 8 Oct, 18:03
• Colorado police sergeant reveals how human traffickers target vulnerable children: ‘Happening in our backyard’The Aurora Police Department Human Trafficking Unit recovered 29 survivors, including 15 minors, in its first year by targeting exploitation of vulnerable youth.Fox News · 8 Oct, 11:30

In this story: Aurora Police Department · Joseph Sullivan · Aurora · Denver · US Department of Homeland Security

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