Kraft Charges Shine Spotlight on Human Trafficking

WMUR

February 26, 2019

"Human trafficking, specifically sex trafficking, is modern slavery in which victims become involved in the commercial sex industry through force, fraud and coercion," said Madison Lightfoot of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.

New Hampshire became one of the first states to make human trafficking a felony in 2014. Frantzer Fleurimond, 28, was the first person successfully prosecuted under the new statute when he pleaded guilty to subjecting four women to prostitution on the Seacoast by controlling their access to heroin.

Lightfoot said traffickers prey on the most vulnerable.

"Whether it's a child being trafficked by their own family member out of their own home or a trafficker advertising for sex services on social media or on the Internet," she said.

Advocates said human trafficking is happening across the state, most often in motels and private homes.

"Human trafficking oftentimes goes undetected because human traffickers are experts at moving constantly without detection, and victims are oftentimes reluctant to come forward," Lightfoot said.

The sting in Florida that resulted in charges being filed against Kraft is an opportunity for awareness to hit home, she said.
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"The more we can continue to shed light on these realities and know what human trafficking does, in fact, look like here in New Hampshire, the better equipped we will be to combat these crimes, to help victims seek safety," she said.

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