Human traffickers prey on vulnerable children, investigators say

Detectives who investigate human trafficking cases have a straightforward message for parents - keep up with what’s going on in your children’s lives.

Many of the cases investigated in Fayetteville and Cumberland County involve local families, the law enforcement officers said Tuesday at a forum sponsored by the Child Advocacy Center and attended by more than 150 people.

More than half the human trafficking cases filed in state court during the 2016-17 fiscal year occurred in Cumberland County, according to state court records. Aggressive enforcement and prosecution likely play a role in the number of cases, along with the opioid crisis and the area’s proximity to Fort Bragg and Interstate 95, officials say.

Detective Ronnie Hutchins of the Fayetteville Police Department’s Human Trafficking Unit, and Sgt. Adam Farnham of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, said at the forum that parents should monitor their children’s activity on social media sites.

Hutchins said a website known for ads that involve human trafficking has posts targeting people from the city. Many local cases involve young people who have run away from home, he said.

“Talk to your child,” Hutchins said. “Know who they are hanging out with.”

Farnham said many cases involve drugs. The young person being trafficked often has a weakness that a predator is able to exploit, he said.

Hutchins said pimps prey on vulnerable children.

“If they can lure that child from the home, they can take them anywhere,” he said.

The predators often move from city to city, making it difficult for investigators to keep up with them, Hutchins said.

“By the time we start the investigation, they’re already moving,” he said.

A human trafficking survivor, Anna Van Beveren, talked generally at the forum about what happened to her. She didn’t say where she was living at the time, but said detectives didn’t act like they believed her or were on her side when they interviewed her.

“That would have been nice,” she said.

Pete Twedell is executive director of Five Sparrows, a local organization that helps human trafficking victims. He said his group works closely with local law enforcement officers, who have learned how to handle those situations.

Twedell said his group offers hope to victims. He said trust has to be built over time.

“The one thing we have not figured out how to do is change a heart,” he said. “At some point they realize we want what is best for them.”

Pam Strickland, founder and director of Eastern North Carolina Stop Human Trafficking Now, said victims react in different ways.

“These people have been through an incredible trauma,” she said.

Dean Duncan, a research professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, talked about Project NO REST, which he directs. The program, which is intended to increase awareness and prevention of human trafficking, is working with Cumberland County officials.

Staff writer Steve DeVane can be reached at sdevane@fayobserver.com or 486-3572.