The prosecution of human trafficking cases is complex, say experts. They share some of the foundational elements needed to facilitate a successful trial.
The investigation, which focused on a single victim whose mother was involved in her exploitation, netted the arrests of more than 170 people, including a P.E. teacher and a write-in candidate for local office.
Some 106 individuals were charged with felonies, including human trafficking, child sexual battery and production and possession of child pornography. Another 72 people were charged with misdemeanors, including solicitation of prostitution.
The operation began in late 2018 after investigators spotted the girl in an online sex-for-pay listing. TPD s Special Victims Unit rescued the girl, who cooperated.
TPD announced the operation last November, months after police began arresting suspects. Several more people were arrested in the months that followed.
Devan Patel, Naples Daily News
Published
11:21 am UTC Feb. 6, 2021
Devan Patel, Naples Daily News
Published
11:21 am UTC Feb. 6, 2021
This story was updated on Feb. 5, 2021, to reflect that while former FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey’s name was on a letter stating why a Florida agency declined to punish an officer who was forced out at the Sunny Isles Police Department in 2006, the letter was sent by the then-chairman of the Probable Cause Panel of the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission.
Joseph Floyd turned Florida’s Crestview Police Department into a criminal enterprise, the judge said at his 2013 sentencing, but his willingness to break the rules didn’t start there.