GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Oshkosh Police recently arrested 10 men during an undercover prostitution investigation. The police department, along with other law enforcement agencies in the region, do a number of these stings every year. They say it’s a proactive way to protect the victims of these crimes.
Prostitution is nothing new and neither are stings to try and shut down the crime.
“There are people that are actually victims and survivors of human trafficking as well as people who are legitimately out there doing this on their own to just benefit themselves whether that be their drug or alcohol or literally just employment,” said Sgt. Matt Wilson with the Brown County Sheriff’s Office.
According to law enforcement, catching the offenders is a bit of a cat and mouse game as the industry has evolved.
“We’ve seen a lot of electronic shows, if you will, where the girl will perform on-camera like your OnlyFans and things like that where they’ll actually perform on camera for monetary value, there’s been a big uptick in that recently. So, it’s changing it’s just a matter of, but there’s still the old school pimps, and Johns, and prostitutes and human trafficking survivors,” added Wilson.
Places like House of Hope and the Sexual Assault Center of Green Bay help those survivors.
In 2022, the Sexual Assault Center said it came to the aid of 33 clients who identified as victims of sex trafficking. So far this year, they’ve helped 15.
House of Hope, which focuses on children and teens facing homelessness, says it sees about 15 to 30 kids a month seeking services.
Not all of those clients are victims of sex trafficking, but because homelessness is a risk factor for trafficking –those kids are considered vulnerable.
“Unfortunately, a lot of youth experiencing homelessness that don’t have a guardian or parental figure end up engaging in what’s called survival sex so exchanging sex for a place to stay or food or resources. A lot of these young people are thinking that these adults are having their best interest in mind but unfortunately they’re predators,” said Karrie Wilson, director of programming for House of Hope Green Bay.
Because it’s hard for victims of sex trafficking to get out of these situations, public awareness is important. People should not be afraid to speak out if something doesn’t seem right.
Wilson added, “Contacting law enforcement or contacting child protective services, if you feel at any point like a child is unsafe, they would rather screen out a hundred calls of somebody that doesn’t fit the criteria of trafficking than have one of these children fall through the cracks.”
In addition to House of Hope and the Sexual Assault Center, Awaken in Brown County and Damascus Road Project in Oshkosh.
