A special guest attended the Republican Women of Simpson County most recent meeting as the guest speaker, Dean Scott.
Scott is the assistant chief of the Pearl Police Department. Scott is also commander of the Mississippi taskforce that targets human trafficking.
The International Labor Organization has estimated that there are 20.9 million victims of human trafficking globally.
Scott explained how he landed in human trafficking by giving a brief report of his history. He said while working for the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office under Victor Mason he began being proactive in human trafficking. Scott explained that he asked Mason to allow him to bring back prostitution stings, and he agreed.
That was the beginning of Scott’s involvement in human trafficking which led to him being the commander of the current taskforce.
Scott cited his daughter as his driving force for combatting human trafficking. He explained that it is easy for young women and men to become victims of human trafficking, and the officers who work in this division do it because they care.
After he gained more experience in human trafficking, Scott said he began interviewing the women he arrested and learned how they became trapped in that lifestyle. Human trafficking is a problem because it is such a lucrative business.
Scott interviewed a 29 year old blonde woman who said she made $20,000 on a slow month. He said it opened his eyes to how many young women are at risk.
Scott said, “When we speak of human trafficking it is perceived as an 18 wheeler full of people being driven over the border to work.” He said that is only part of it, and is called labor trafficking which could be described as modern day slavery. He explained that the people involved in these acts are usually illegal immigrants who are brought into the country with false promises of citizenship or a better life. These individuals work and live in harsh conditions for little to no pay. He said, “The other side is sex trafficking and it happens every day.”
He explained that in human trafficking cases, an officer has to prove that a third person has benefited from the sexual acts of another. Scott was not shy in his explanation of the human trafficking world. He spoke in plain terms such as pimps and enforcers, and explained the dynamics of the relationship. The pimp as explained by Scott is the beneficiary of the sexual acts of the women under his control. His enforcer, which is usually another woman, is loyal to him and handles discipline. Discipline comes in the form of vicious acts of violence against the other women who fail to earn or follow his instructions. He explained that many of them are kept in line through drug dependency. The presentation was not for the faint of heart, and Scott spared no details when describing the most recent situations he has dealt with.
He described undercover officers in Jackson doing several buys from a drug dealer in an undisclosed location. Scott explained that on one transaction they saw a kid leaving with the drug dealer. The undercover officer inquired about the child. The dealer told the officers that if they were ever short on cash, then they could bring him a child to complete the drug transaction. Scott said that the officers were faced with a decision to either ignore the horrors of the situation in front of them and continue to build their case. Or act, and save the child’s life. The commander made the call and told his officers to pull the plug on the operation. Scott said, “We couldn’t just sit back and allow that child to be hurt.”
He said that this is the reality of some children who have addicts for parents. The parents who can’t afford to support their habits will offer themselves or their children in exchange for drugs.
Scott said since working in human trafficking he has also been exposed to the homosexual community. The worst case he has ever worked involved a 19 year old homosexual male. He described the young man as being a prodigy who was on track to take over the Latin department at Harvard University. Scott explained that the incident started as a joke. The young man went out with a group of guys who got him drunk and high and ultimately left him at an unnamed restaurant. He said what followed was one of the harshest acts of cruelty that he has ever witnessed. He described the people who abducted this young man as “pure evil”. He said the teen was taken, and his captors injected methamphetamine into his anus which caused a paralyzing effect. Scott said, the young man was recorded being raped over 87 times. He was captured for 5 days before he was able to escape under his own power and get help. Scott solemnly said the experience changed the young man’s life forever, and he was infected with HIV. He never made it to Harvard.
Scott said that he witnesses these types of cases every day, and it encompasses people from all walks of life. He said, “From politicians, heart surgeons, garbage truck driver I have seen them all.” Jackson was described as a hub for human trafficking and is considered to be an interchange for prostitution. Scott said that the centralized location makes it the perfect spot to trade women. He then revealed that this problem is closer to Simpson County than people think. Scott said, “A lot of people think this is a Jackson problem, but no this is a Mendenhall problem and several other small towns. Human trafficking is going on right here.”
Scott explained a sting that his taskforce did in a town smaller than Mendenhall. He said they ran an ad for 4 days posing as a 16 year old girl. The leadership of the town was adamant that human trafficking was not a problem in their area. In four days the taskforce made 84 arrest and $80,000 for the town. He reiterated that it is happening in Simpson County and that high school students are particularly at risk. Scott said, “In high schools what these guys prey on are the ones that are withdrawn and usually mistreated. Most victims have performed sexual acts by the time they were eight through eleven years old.”
In an effort to help at risk teens, Scott said that professionals in conjunction with his taskforce have helped train school counselors to recognize the signs of human trafficking. There are other services available through the Center for Violence Prevention. A 24 hour hotline is available at 800-266-4198 or 601-932-4198. Services for victims include shelter, case management, advocacy, therapeutic services, and education awareness. Scoot encouraged anyone who is a victim of human trafficking or any form of abuse to seek help immediately. He invited victims of human trafficking in search of help to call him at 601-932-3569.
