Smith County Combatting Rise in Sex Trafficking

By DAVID CHAPEK/Staff Writer

Nearly 600 active online ads for prostitution were posted from Tyler in just one week according to local Homeland Security Investigations data.

This shocking number is just one indicator of the dramatic rise of human trafficking in East Texas over the past several years, says Smith County Assistant District Attorney Bryan Jiral. 

Tyler has become a trafficking hotspot, he said.

The rise “is extremely significant,” Jiral noted earlier this year. “I have been a DA for 11 years. In my first eight years, I saw one trafficking case. Right now, I think I’m investigating six.”

Jiral, who has worked on trafficking cases for Smith County for years, said he only handles a fraction of the cases happening in the county.

“I bet I don’t touch a third of the sex cases,” he said. “If you actually did the numbers, the numbers in Smith County are going to be astronomical.”

Sheila Parker, assistant coordinator of Victim Services at the Smith County District Attorney’s Office, confirmed the rise. During her 13 years in the position, she said she has seen sex trafficking become more of a problem.

“Sex assault cases and especially children sex assault cases seem to be increasing the most, and it’s scary,” Parker said. “There’s probably a whole lot more unreported than are reported.”

FACTORS INFLUENCING RISE

Jiral, who works with local FBI, Homeland Security and Department of Public Safety offices in both investigation and prosecution, blame three factors for the recent increase in sex trafficking.

“The rise in social media, the culture itself . . . and then also the change in the definitional code,” Jiral said.

He explained that social media has made access easier for “pimps” or those wanting to exploit victims.

“You also have the . . . pimps being able to reach out and recruit in a way that they wouldn’t have otherwise,” Jiral said. “People are being recruited on Instagram; they’re being recruited on Facebook.”

He also blamed the changing culture that has accepted “the over-sexualization of pre-teen and teenage girls.”

“Mainstream actresses have OnlyFans, you know,” he said. “You get more likes for provocative pictures on Instagram. . . . They’re seeing their heroes try to be sexier and sexier, and so it’s making it OK and making it cool.”

But Jiral also said part of the increase comes from changes in the law and in its enforcement. Officers are learning how to spot trafficking more consistently, making it easier to arrest and investigate cases.

“Law enforcement is starting to see how to investigate,” he said. “A lot of the shift is also penalty ranges and ease of doing the offense, cause I think a lot of dope dealers are starting to realize they can . . . make more money easier” by selling people rather than drugs.

However, arrests don’t necessarily equal convictions. According to Jiral, the high bar for criminal cases means the actual numbers are significantly higher than the number of cases prosecutors see.

“To even get to a criminal matter, it takes a huge leap, so your numbers are going to be super skewed,” Jiral said.

ATTRACTING THE VICTIMS

Sherry Magness, coordinator of Victim Services at the Smith County District Attorney’s Office, said that trafficking victims usually get pulled into the business by the lure of a better life.

“What these sex traffickers try to do is they have people that will befriend that girl and convince her that there’s a better life over here,” she said.

While not everyone might be open to such offers, Magness said that traffickers pick victims with very specific and similar profiles.

“They usually target girls that have either a bad homelife, or they’re not accepted at school or they don’t quite fit in,” she said. “They target that type of person, because they’re the easiest to draw in, because they’re looking for friendship.”

The resulting betrayal then causes most victims to hold back from trusting anyone else, according to Magness, who has spent 18 years working with victims.

“It’s usually a girl . . . that’s very unwilling to talk, very non-trusting,” she said. “Sometimes they feel like it’s better than where they were. They feel like this person kind of rescued them, but then he ends up getting them on drugs.”

The same reason someone might be the target are the exact reasons we should reach out and befriend that very person, according to Magness. While it might not seem like there’s much the average person can do to help prevent human trafficking, Madness says there is one thing someone may do.

“The only thing I can think of is, if you saw a girl that was really, really struggling, it might be helpful if you would befriend her,” Magness said.

PREVENTION IS CRUCIAL

Parker said that prevention is crucial when it comes to curbing sex trafficking and that prevention starts with being educated.

“The more you can stop before it happens, the better, if they would just know what it looks like,” she said. “Being educated, being willing to step up and say something—there’s a lot of ways people in the public can help, but they got to know first what to report.”

Maria Villarreal, supervisor for the anti-human trafficking organization Unbound Now, said that education is the most important thing. Additionally, there’s still plenty that can be done, even by those that might not be able to work with victims.

“People may not feel comfortable getting involved directly with victims,” Villarreal said. “And that’s totally OK, it’s not for everybody. If people still want to help out, they can help out by providing meals, by providing clothes, by providing a listening ear – whatever it may be. There are so many different ways people can help.”

But no matter what people do, according to Villarreal, getting involved is what matters.

“It’s a problem that’s going to take a village,” she said.