Federal prosecutors in Maryland charged more defendants in human trafficking cases last year than in all but one other federal district — the Southern District of New York, according to a new study by the Human Trafficking Institute.
Of the 15 people charged last year in federal human trafficking cases in Maryland, 14 had sex-trafficking-related charges. One person faced a labor-trafficking charge.
Across the nation, 297 defendants were charged in sex-trafficking and labor-trafficking cases in 59 federal districts, according to the institute’s report, which only looked at federal cases. It did not reflect state prosecutions for human trafficking.
Federal trafficking cases have skyrocketed since Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000, criminalizing human trafficking.
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