Despite saving hundreds of sex trafficking victims yearly, Hawaii has few prosecutions

Hawaii may be paradise to some, but it still has a problem when it comes to sex trafficking.

Experts have a hard time pinpointing the exact number of sex trafficking victims in Hawaii, but they do know it is much higher than the number of arrests and convictions for sex traffickers.

"Unlike drugs which can be sold once, children or adult victims can be sold many times. So, unfortunately it can be a very lucrative crime for the criminals," said FBI Honolulu's Special Agent In Charge Steven Merrill.

Each year in Hawaii, hundreds of adult sex trafficking victims are helped to get out. While the Hawaii Department of Human Services annually confirms more than a dozen cases of child sex trafficking.

Even with all those victims, since 2020, Honolulu police have not made any sex trafficking arrests. There have been very few sex trafficking prosecutions on county, state and federal levels.

"One of the reasons these cases are so difficult to prosecute is we need 100% of the cooperation of the victim to make them," added Merrill.

Some question why that is the case.

"Minors don't have a choice. If you are being sold for sex and you a minor - that is sex trafficking. If you are an adult you have to say you were forced or enticed or there was coercion involved. Why is necessary to have that victim testify, if you gather that evidence," said Ho'ola Na Pua Advocate & Community Outreach Coordinator Tammy Bitanga.

Decades before becoming an advocate against sex trafficking, Bitanga had a troubled childhood filled with physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Then she met a sex trafficker.

"He exploited me. I was with him, under his control for five months. That was the beginning of me learning the game," said Bitanga.

She was in and out of the industry for 20 years and understands why some victims may not want to testify - a sense of loyalty to their abuser.

"If you have been brainwashed to think you are part of the team, why would you not be loyal to your team? You would feel like you are betraying them," said Bitanga.

https://www.kitv.com/news/crime/despite-saving-hundreds-of-sex-trafficking-victims-yearly-hawaii-has-few-prosecutions/article_b3e29b1c-e231-11ec-b556-27b9a3402aeb.html