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Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Crime of 'master manipulators': Most cases involve 'personal' situations involving family members, close associates
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Human trafficking occurs in homes, hotel rooms, massage parlors, brothels, restaurants, farm fields and online. Women, children and men are all victimized. They are exploited by family members, intimate partners, groomers, pimps, gangs or business owners, who may use coercion, economic manipulation, blackmail, emotional abuse, drugs, gifts, violence and threats to keep the victims entrapped. It takes many forms, among them prostitution, sex in exchange for a place to live, child labor in sweatshops, debt bondage, forced criminality and organ harvesting. Human Trafficking logo The problem exists not only in seemingly lawless international regions and major cities, but also in small towns – such as Johnstown and neighboring communities. More than 27 million people worldwide are estimated to be in human trafficking situations at any given time, according to the U.S. Department of State, although exact numbers are impossible to calculate given the shadowy nature of the situations. The International Labour Organization and the Walk Free Foundation, in partnership with the International Organization for Migration, put the total around 40 million, including forced marriages, in a 2017 report. The annual revenue from human trafficking has been estimated to be as high as $230 billion – more than four times the money generated by the National Football League, the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association combined in 2024. In whatever form it takes and wherever it occurs, human trafficking is 'pure slavery,' said Douglas Lengenfelder, a staffer for state Sen. Cris Dush, R-Jefferson, one of Pennsylvania's leading anti-human trafficking crusaders. HUMAN TRAFFICKING | Local law enforcement: Incidents underreported, so scope not fully quantified The National Human Trafficking Hotline identified 12 likely victims of human trafficking in Cambria County from 2015-2022. There were three in Somerset County. 'The individuals who think we have conquered slavery in this nation really do not understand the significance and the horror of human trafficking,' said Lengenfelder, an Air Force veteran and Republican former Cambria County commissioner. 'Exploited' relationships A young woman on a gap-year holiday walks alone at night along the cobblestone streets of a beautiful European capital. A van pulls up. Two men quickly drag her into the vehicle. She resists, kicking, scratching, screaming. They overpower her. Bound and gagged, the woman is kidnapped, transported against her will to another country, sold and forced into prostitution. That scenario does indeed happen. And it makes for a thrilling Hollywood movie plot. But the majority of human trafficking – based on the 'Actions, Means, and Purpose,' or AMP, model – occurs in more personal and less sensationalized ways. Adults groom boys and girls in video game chatrooms. Drug-addicted parents use their children's innocence as payment to their dealers. Restaurant owners underpay undocumented immigrants who cannot complain for fear of being deported. Men get romantically involved with vulnerable women, give gifts, provide what appears to be a stable environment and then manipulate them into providing sex work. HUMAN TRAFFICKING | 'Pimps' and websites: AI-driven system has no legal standing yet in Pa., but delivers warnings to 'customers' At noon on a regular Monday last month, a website showed about 80 sex worker advertisements in the areas of Johnstown, Indiana and Altoona. 'With human trafficking, I think what surprises many people is how many victims actually know their trafficker,' said Jordan Pine, founder and CEO of Cumberland County-based Greenlight Operation, an anti-human trafficking organization. 'I think we do often think of the sensational stories or movies like 'Sound of Freedom' or 'Taken,' but in Pennsylvania it doesn't usually look that way, because if it did, police would be on high alert. We'd be looking for these individuals. What we have to keep in mind is that traffickers are master manipulators who are trying to make as much money as possible without getting noticed.' The report 'Polaris Analysis of 2021 Data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline' outlined how human trafficking recruitment was often done by a family member or caregiver (33% of the time), an intimate partner (28%) or employer (22%). The type of exploiters were employers (43%), those with a familial relationship to the victim (26%) and intimate partners (22%). 'This shows us again that it's not always just stranger danger,' Pine said. 'Yes, that can happen. But, more often than not, a victim knows their traffickers, and that relationship is getting exploited.' Vulnerability, 'coercion' Human trafficking thrives online. 'Escorts' are advertised on websites. Predators also lurk, striking up chats with children playing video games or otherwise communicating online. Douglas Lengenfelder Douglas Lengenfelder, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and former Cambria County commissioner, speaks with The Tribune-Democrat in October 2020. Lengenfelder said the prime 'hunting time' is between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. He said that whenever a youngster is left unsupervised or unmonitored online, the parents have 'invited that predator to have private time with your child.' He recommended some 'very easy, straightforward approaches' for prevention, such as giving children flip phones that can be used for calling or programmable Apple Watches instead of smartphones with internet access. Lengenfelder said predators will act 'like hunting wolves' in a pack, each asking different questions until they form a combined profile, regarding home life, friends, likes and dislikes. The traffickers, whether searching for children or adults, look for vulnerabilities to exploit – past unresolved trauma, mental illness, economic insecurity and, in many cases, drug and alcohol dependency. 'It can look different, but it's definitely some type of coercion or intimidation over the other person to get them to do these acts for the benefit of the trafficker, who is making a lot of money,' said former Cambria County District Attorney Kelly Callihan, who helped form the Cambria County Human Trafficking Response Team. Kelly Callihan Kelly Callihan 'They're usually providing the basic necessities that the victims need to survive, which is housing, food, whatever drug they're using. They pretty much tie them off from society and provide those basic needs, which keeps them in the cycle and it's very difficult for a victim to get out.' Signs and risks The red flags of human trafficking can be challenging to detect. What might be a cause for concern with one person might just be part of another person's regular personality. 'Victimization looks different for everybody,' said Victim Services' Jessica Piro, the Cambria County Human Trafficking Response Team's co-coordinator. She said some common signs, though, are a person becoming withdrawn, fights with families, poor boundaries that lead to risky behavior, hypersexualization, chronic truancy from school or missing work, talk about a 'sugar daddy' or 'sugar mama,' use of multiple phones, sudden appearance of gifts and money, and medical problems. Some communities can be at higher risk for being trafficked – runaway youth, LGBTQ+ children who have been in placement, homeless people, substance abusers and people with histories of trauma.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DOC answers questions regarding proposed closures, Sen. Dush still seeks answers
CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) – The Department of Corrections answered some questions regarding the proposed closures of SCI Rockview and Quehanna Boot Camp, but Sen. Cris Dush (R-25) still wants more details. Sen. Dush sent a letter to the DOC in late April asking them for more information in regards to the potential closures. Some of his requests were to see each of the criteria used to determine which institutions to close, the names of the members of the steering committee that recommended the closures and proof that each institution was evaluated equally. He ended the letter by saying if he did not get a response by the end of May 2, he would 'be considering a State Government Committee hearing for the purpose of issuing a subpoena for the information.' According to a press release from Sen. Dush's office, the DOC responded to his letter, saying that some of his questions would be answered in a release, with the remainder being answered by their final report. In response to this, Sen. Dush said he would be 'temporarily suspending' his plans to pursue the subpoena process. PA Attorney General recognizes rehabilitation program graduates The DOC published its responses to common questions they heard at the public hearings online. Some of the responses include disputing the Boot Camp program's recidivism rate, dispelling speculation that a potential closure of SCI Rockview was motivated by a 'sweetheart deal' for land, and explaining why moving inmates would not cause overcrowding. Sen. Dush saw the responses and did not think all his questions were answered. 'There are a number of problems with what they produced,' Dush said. He is still concerned about the potential 'sweetheart deal' at Rockview, saying that he was 'approached by some developers that were interested in acquiring land over there' before the DOC made its recommendation. He also mentioned the now publicly available spreadsheets that include both Quehanna and Rockview's 5-year estimated deferred maintenance capital plan. 'My concern is that they're not telling us or giving us the same report for all the other SCIs so that we can see if, in fact, those other SCIs have greater deferred maintenance costs,' Sen. Dush said. WTAJ asked Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday about how a potential closure could affect rehabilitation services for recovering drug abusers. He says boot camps are a way for people 'to be held accountable,' which he thinks is important. 'Initiatives that hold people accountable, but also give them the tools to be successful in life are absolutely critical for our community, for public safety and for the Commonwealth,' Sunday said. Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters. Dush did not say when he plans to present another list of questions to the DOC, but he does know what he wants from the department now. 'I think it's in the best interest of the department to delay announcing if they're planning on to actually close it,' Dush said. WTAJ reached out to the DOC for comment on Sen. Dush's requests for information and did not receive one. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ -
