Making a Difference in the Lives of People
What is human trafficking? According to the U.S. Department of Justice, human trafficking is trafficking in persons or modern-day slavery. This crime involves coercing or compelling a person to provide services, labor, or force them to engage in commercialized sex acts. The coercion can be overt, subtle, psychological, or physical. Exploiting minors for commercial sex purposes is human trafficking, regardless of whether a trafficker used any form of force, fraud, or coercion.
Human trafficking is a pervasive issue faced worldwide; 24.9 million cases are estimated to exist and affect people from all backgrounds, ages, races, or other demographics. The unfortunate reality is that the majority of human trafficking victims are vulnerable. They may be a child in the child welfare system, victims of domestic violence, have substance abuse problems, or have limited English proficiency, among other scenarios that increase a victim’s vulnerability. Over 11,500 cases were reported in the US in 2019 and primarily include forced labor and sex trafficking cases. Located in Pennsylvania, one of the top US states nationwide for this type of crime due to its opioid crisis and major highways, CSI ensures no family or child case falls through the cracks with an unparalleled record of successfully locating missing and runaway children.
CSI relies on a diverse specialized team with extensive background experience in Law Enforcement, Military, Fortune 500 Security, including PhDs, and Academics, with a staff that includes men, women, and minorities to solve these complex cases.
Once a case is assigned to CSI, an investigator collaborates with a caseworker to gather further information and instructions. CSI’s multijurisdictional efforts have brought human traffickers to justice while making the nation safer for seven years. CSI’s investigations have resulted in locating and rescuing thousands of youths by cooperating with agents from the FBI, Homeland Security, various District Attorney's offices, and the Department of Human Services. This story is one of those cases.
CSI’s Approach
In September 2021, the CSI team was called to investigate a missing 14-year-old child absent from school for an extended period. CSI tracked the child’s social media and used proprietary resources to recognize clues on her social accounts. Using specialized field investigation techniques, CSI identified leads that raised red flags indicating the child was a victim of a human trafficking ring.
CSI shared their investigative findings and partnered with law enforcement and federal agency groups. This Task Force quickly discovered that the missing child and another child were traveling between states with an older male. The investigation concluded that the children were victims of human trafficking.
The CSI team located the children hundreds of miles away and collaborated with agencies, including the FBI Office in New York and the NYPD. The two children were identified and rescued from a hotel in Queens, NY.
CSI then aided the caseworker who took custody of the child in Queens. The child was successfully transferred to a Western Pennsylvania placement facility, where she received the needed support in a safe environment, thanks to the efforts of the CSI team with the partnership of law enforcement and youth services.
CSI Mission Success When CSI is called to assist with a missing person case, agents use their variety of skills while working closely with local law enforcement agencies and other federal partners to locate the victim as quickly as possible. CSI Investigators’ specialized skills and propriety resources are the driving force in locating missing and runaway youth and families using CSI’s diverse team of specialists with backgrounds in law enforcement, academics, military, and more. If you need help finding someone, the team at CSI is ready to handle any situation with care.
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