Why it is hard to prosecute sex trafficking cases in US( revised version with references)

There are several reasons why it is hard to prosecute sex trafficking cases in the US. For one thing, the victims are scared to testify. One victim, a 19-year girl rescued by Okaloosa County Florida police had been taught to fear law enforcement. "The young woman was so terrified that she trembled with fear and wouldn’t utter a word to sheriff’s deputies and investigators, let alone cooperate with an investigation aimed at prosecuting her exploiters."(Donahue). Another thing is the victims want to forget about their experience as soon as possible. A trafficking case needs a long time. Anna Rodriguez, the founder of the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking, said “If the offenses have escalated to criminal offenses that would warrant a jury trial, convincing victims to stay in the United States for another year to testify at trial is nearly impossible…. These victims don’t want to stick around for two years and put their life back home on hold to testify. They want to go home and forget about it….”( Donahue).The unwillingness of victims to cooperate with the authorities is one of the biggest obstacles in putting criminals behind bars.

Works Cited

Donahue, Patrick."Human Trafficking: a Million-Dollar Industry in Destin. " Florida Freedom Newspapers. 22 September, 2007. 15 October 2007. http://senecac.on.ca.