Federal sex-trafficking prosecutions fall 22% under Trump administration, Reuters review finds

Federal prosecutors charged 73 people with sex trafficking through June of this year, approximately 22% fewer than the average number charged during the same period over the previous three years, according to a Reuters review of federal court records and interviews with 25 former prosecutors, current agents and victims' advocates — findings published against a backdrop of repeated administration statements describing the fight against sex trafficking as a top priority.

According to the Straits Times, federal sex-trafficking prosecutions have reached their slowest pace since 2010. Charges for related offences also declined: the Justice Department charged 1,230 people with child pornography violations through June, 3% below the average for the same months over the prior three years, and charged 318 people with violating the Mann Act, targeting interstate prostitution, 18% below average.

The Straits Times reported that people charged with crimes unrelated to immigration more broadly — including tax evasion and drug trafficking — dropped 7% through June to approximately 22,000, suggesting the sex-trafficking decline is part of a wider shift in federal enforcement priorities under President Donald Trump, who has reduced agency budgets and directed resources toward deportations.

Reuters, as reported by both outlets, found that experienced personnel have departed the Justice Department, and that some Homeland Security Investigations agents previously working trafficking cases were reassigned to immigration duties. According to the Straits Times, during part of last year the majority of all HSI agents were assigned to immigration enforcement. In some U.S. attorney's offices, remaining investigators have been unable to find prosecutors willing or available to take on their cases.

Seven former prosecutors told the Straits Times that dozens of veterans with experience prosecuting sex-trafficking cases have recently left the department, at a rate described as higher than typical. The Straits Times also reported that with fewer agents dedicated to sex trafficking, many active investigations are described as essentially frozen and new files are rarely opened, according to seven former prosecutors and three agents.

The shift has also affected victims, both sources report. Advocates said that agents reassigned to immigration duties disrupted relationships with vulnerable victims and witnesses, and that some survivors became reluctant to cooperate with federal authorities. According to the Times of India, funding for victim-support organisations was affected, with some Justice Department grants for housing, food and mental-health services delayed or frozen, and the number of T-visas approved for trafficking victims running at roughly half the typical pace.

The Justice Department said combating human trafficking remained a priority and attributed part of the decline to prosecutors and investigators being occupied with a large number of ongoing cases. The department also said it was hiring to fill vacant positions. However, according to the Straits Times, the Justice Department said its own data showed a smaller decrease than Reuters found, but declined to explain how it reached those conclusions or to provide correlating case numbers, and Reuters was unable to replicate the department's results using a public version of its database.

According to the Straits Times, Congress recently confirmed Trump nominee Todd Blanche as Attorney General in a 50-to-49 vote, with two Republicans voting against him. His nomination faced bipartisan criticism over the handling of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and a transfer to a minimum-security prison granted to Ghislaine Maxwell shortly after Blanche personally interviewed her. Blanche told Congress that combating human trafficking 'remains a Department priority given the gravity of the harm it causes.' The administration also appointed Alessandra Serano, described as a career prosecutor, as a new national coordinator for child exploitation and human trafficking.

The Straits Times noted that Reuters used dockets of every publicly filed federal criminal case over the past two decades obtained from Westlaw, a Thomson Reuters legal research service, and in some cases used artificial intelligence to help classify charges. A review of a random set of records showed the assessments to be 98% accurate, according to that outlet. The Straits Times also noted a longer-term trend of declining sex-trafficking cases over the past decade, which sources attributed in part to an increased Justice Department focus on more time-consuming cases against higher-profile offenders.

Where sources differ

• The Justice Department told Reuters its own data showed a smaller decrease in sex-trafficking prosecutions than the 22% figure Reuters calculated from court records; however, the department declined to explain its methodology or provide supporting case numbers, and Reuters said it could not replicate the department's results.

• The Justice Department's own methodology for calculating a smaller decline was not disclosed, and its figures cannot be independently verified from public data.
• The total number of experienced personnel who have departed the Justice Department's sex-trafficking units is not precisely quantified in either source.
• The specific number or proportion of HSI agents currently assigned to immigration versus sex-trafficking cases is not established beyond the partial reference to 'part of last year.'
• The exact dollar amounts of Justice Department grants delayed or frozen for victim-support organisations are not specified.
• The precise current rate of T-visa approvals compared to historical norms is not independently verified beyond Reuters' characterisation of 'roughly half the typical pace.'
• Whether the newly appointed national coordinator Alessandra Serano has taken specific remedial steps beyond the statements attributed to her is not established.
• The long-term impact on ongoing investigations and victim outcomes is not assessed in either source.
• Neither source provides comment from trafficking victims themselves.

1. The Times of India — original — by TOI World Desk
2. The Straits Times — by The Straits Times

Read the original at The Times of India

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