Last Monday, Riverside police arrested four men and a woman who were involved in the attempted trafficking of an 18-year-old female victim. The victim was abducted the previous Friday and sexually abused by several members of the group.
The group of five is from the San Jose area and planned to force the 18 year old into prostitution within the confines of a motel in Moreno Valley, California. According the NBC news, the victim escaped when her captors were distracted and contacted local law enforcement.
Those guilty of the crime are 25 year old Ibrahim A. Binhajjyahyaabdulma, 23 year old Khalid A. Binhajjyahyaabdulma, 20 year old Ana Karen Cej, 32 year old Abubakr Horrington, and 21 year old Jerry Landers. The police arrested all suspects. The victim remains anonymous, although it is known that she is a resident of Southern California.
Unfortunately, human trafficking (particularly sex trafficking) is increasing on a global scale and the United States is not exempt. The United Nations defines human trafficking as the forced recruitment, transport, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons for the sake of exploitation. In a report from The National Human Rights Resource Center, there has been a 456% increase in calls to human trafficking hotlines in the U.S. since 2008.
California Attorney General, Kamala D. Harris, says "Human trafficking is the world's fastest growing criminal enterprise and is an estimated $32 billion-a-year global industry. After drug trafficking, human trafficking is the world's second most profitable criminal enterprise".
Riverside County continues to be affected by increasing human trafficking along with the rest of the nation. Fortunately, there are organizations dedicated to inhibiting this disturbing growth, such as the Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking (RCAHT) taskforce that Riverside Sheriff-Coroner Stanley Sniff formed in September 2010.
The abuse of human rights is found outside the borders of the U.S and generally considered a problem of developing nations. Events like the one transpired are a reminder that human rights must be protected at both fronts.
