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Monroe County sheriff tells Michigan House panel human trafficking exists locally, outlines VIPER task force
Summary
Sheriff Troy Goodenough told the Michigan House Oversight Committee on Homeland Security and Foreign Influence that human trafficking — including labor and child-exploitation cases — occurs in Michigan. He described the Monroe County VIPER task forceand urged lawmakers to consider more victim shelters and resources for law enforcement.
Sheriff Troy Goodenough of Monroe County told the House Oversight Committee on Homeland Security and Foreign Influence that human trafficking occurs in Michigan and described his office—s VIPER task force, which focuses on violent internet predators and exploitation.
VIPER, the Violent Internet Predator and Exploitation Response Task Force, has investigated 55 cases he said; 10 were investigated as human trafficking and 45 involved child exploitation or child solicitation, and the sheriff said one trafficking case had been charged in court. Goodenough said the task force partners with local and federal agencies for operations and uses electronic-device investigations to locate suspected offenders.
The sheriff cited both sex and labor trafficking in southeast Michigan, including recent raids on storefront spas where investigators found three women living at a site and seized more than $30,000 in cash. He…
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