Latest Human trafficking News
Wander Franco's sex abuse trial has been postponed 5 months
PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) — The trial against Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, who has been charged with sexually abusing a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking, was postponed on Thursday and scheduled to resume June 2, 2025. ...
Luxury real estate brokers charged in federal indictment with sex trafficking in NYC
NEW YORK (AP) — Two luxury real estate brokers and their brother have been charged with luring, drugging and violently raping dozens of women over more than a decade, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday in Manhattan. State charges were also filed Wednesday in...
Ex-Abercrombie CEO asks court to determine if he's competent to face sex trafficking charges
NEW YORK (AP) — The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch has requested a court hearing to determine whether he’s mentally fit to stand trial as he faces federal sex trafficking charges in New York. A lawyer for Michael Jeffries made a motion for a competency hearing during a...
Wander Franco trial: Rays star faces sexual abuse, human trafficking charges in Dominican Republic
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco is scheduled to go to trial Thursday in the Dominican Republic in a sexual abuse case involving a 14-year-old girl. Now 23, Franco was having an All-Star season in 2023 before Dominican authorities began investigating allegations he had been in...
UK and Germany sign deal against people smugglers as Europe struggles to halt Channel crossings
LONDON (AP) — The U.K. and Germany pledged Tuesday to share intelligence and expertise against the people-smuggling gangs that send migrants across the English Channel in small boats, the latest effort by European countries to stop the dangerous journeys. Home Secretary Yvette...
6 Guatemalans arrested and charged with human smuggling in deadly 2021 Mexico truck crash
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Six Guatemalans were arrested in Guatemala and in Texas Monday on human smuggling charges linked to a 2021 semitrailer truck crash in Mexico that killed more than 50 migrants, authorities said. The truck had been packed with at least 160 migrants, many of them...
13 women convicted in Cambodia of acting as pregnancy surrogates for foreigners
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Thirteen women from the Philippines have been convicted on human trafficking-related charges for acting as surrogates in Cambodia for a ring selling babies to foreigners for cash. The women were each sentenced to four years in prison after being found...
Dismantling of two New Jersey human trafficking rings leads to charges against seven, AG says
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey authorities took down two human trafficking rings, including one that was forcing children as young as 13 to have sex with adults for money, the state's top law enforcement official said Tuesday. Seven people have been charged as a result of the...
Former Abercrombie CEO's partner pleads not guilty to sex trafficking charges, is freed on bond
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — Matthew Smith, the partner of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, was released on $10 million bond Tuesday in their sex trafficking case with conditions including home detention and GPS monitoring. Smith, 61, pleaded not guilty to sex...
Venezuelan migrants keep arriving in Colombia. These faith leaders offer them a home away from home
PALMIRA, Colombia (AP) — It’s been three years since Douarleyka Velásquez abandoned her career in human resources. Her new job is not what she had planned for, but still feels rewarding. As a cleaning supervisor at a migrant shelter in Colombia, she gets to comfort Venezuelans who, just like...
