Prosecution of Domestic Traffickers

Come hear what it takes to prosecute a trafficking case. Learn what makes task forces work, the investigation process, victim/witness issues and the advantages/disadvantages of going federal. Assistant United States Attorney’s MacDonald and Wilton  will teach you what it takes to prosecute a trafficking case, what statutes can be used against suspects, and what it takes to get your case prosecuted successfully.  Erica will focus on interstate child prostitution while Chris will cover gangs involved in sex trafficking. Numerous recent case examples will be used to stress the critical points. Both are experienced prosecutors who are currently prosecuting cases in the Minnesota US Attorney's Office.

Organized Gangs – Pimping, Prostitution, and Human Trafficking

Jeffrey Miller, Investigator, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office

See a new insurgence of organized gangs who make money through pimping, prostitution and trafficking of woman.  Learn how gangs and other persons recruit, teach, and earn profit from these crimes.  Jeff will provide a specific case study of a gang that operated for nearly 6 years in San Diego .  Learn current, real-life investigative techniques, skills, and knowledge for those line-level investigators.  Students will take away specific information and methods for victim interviewing, evidence suggestions, corroborating cases, and key considerations for successful prosecution.  Jeff was successful in securing the first Human Trafficking sex trade conviction in California under its new state law.  See a view into the case, learn key components of this law, and the do’s and don’ts he discovered in these types of cases.  Jeff has over 15 years experience with the San Diego Police Department, and is currently with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.  Jeff is considered a subject matter expert in pimping, prostitution, and human trafficking for California Police Officer Standards and Training (POST).

How to Conduct Advanced and High Profile Prostitution Investigations

Mark Gilkey, Detective, Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department

This course will cover advanced prostitution investigations

• The Human Trafficking Aspect
  
  • Pimp Investigations
  • Escort Agency
  • Massage parlors
  • Brothels
• High Profile Prostitution Investigations
  
  • D.C. Madam
  • Elliott Spitzer

Learn about high profile prostitution investigations.
All of the above information will include how to investigate and prepare for prosecution these types of cases. It will also include the most important information, “Training Undercover Officers and Detectives to successfully obtain the best information for prosecution.”

Mark is a 27 year veteran of the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department and is a member of the Human Trafficking Task Force.  Mark has developed and implemented many successful undercover operations targeting major escort services. He is the one of the founders and serves as a facilitator of one of the most successful John School diversion programs in the country.  Mark also assisted in the implementation of the Prostitution Court of the District of Columbia Superior Court.  He has personally been an Undercover Officer in several thousand arrests involving all aspects of prostitution including but not limited to street prostitution and escort services.  Mark is the regional expert in the field of prostitution investigation for Metropolitan Police Department and serves as the expert witness for the United States Attorney’s office of the District of Columbia.  He is frequently sought out as an expert in several venues.  Most recently, Detective Gilkey appeared on the nationally syndicated Larry King Live show.

Human Trafficking Challenges in the Courtroom

Gretchen Dahlinger Means – Assistant District Attorney San Diego, California

Learn what it takes to successfully prosecute a human trafficking case. A prosecutor’s view of the essential components of a human trafficking investigation and the prosecutorial challenges these cases pose once issued. Victim management, working with NGOs and federal agencies, immunity, and the need for protocol development will be discussed.

Gretchen Dahlinger Means has been a prosecutor since 1999.  She is currently assigned to the Sex Crimes Unit of the Office of the District Attorney in San Diego. In the Sex Crimes Unit, she prosecutes sexual assault, human trafficking, and pimping and pandering cases; she also handles sexually violent predator commitments.  Gretchen is currently prosecuting several gang pimps using California Penal Code 186.22 allegation to enhance traditional vice and human trafficking crimes. Gretchen teaches human trafficking prosecution and effective vice investigation and prosecution nationally.  She has lectured extensively on the topic of sexual assault in the military, and prosecuting sexual assault cases involving high risk and mentally retarded victims. Before becoming a prosecutor, Gretchen worked with at-risk youth in Maryland and California.

Investigative Response to Domestic Prostitution and Trafficking Victims

Sergeant Byron Fassett and Detective Cathy De La Paz

Dallas Police Department Child Exploitation Squad

Participants will be provided with techniques through the uses of protocols, special interview techniques, assessment tools and community partnership to respond to high risk victims. Participants will be provided with information regarding the scope of the problem of domestic prostitution/trafficking of children across the country, dynamics of child prostitution, characteristics and profile of the victim/child prostitute, and the offender/pimp. The pathway to victimization and recruitment techniques will also be discussed. This presentation will demonstrate the correlation and commonalties between the chronic runaway, repeat victims of sexual abuse, the child victimized through prostitution. Participants will receive a unique and rare look, “a firsthand, insider’s view,” of the how children are victimized through prostitution from the victim’s and the perpetrator's, “pimp’s,” perspective.

Sergeant Byron A. Fassett has been with the Dallas Police Department for 27 years.  He served as Patrol Officer and a Detective before moving to the Child Exploitation Squad in 1990 where he has specialized in conducting investigations involving the sexual abuse and exploitation of children for the past 18 years.  The Child Exploitation Squad which Sergeant Fassett is responsible for supervising handles approximately 1,100 cases a year, consists of 15 detectives, and is divided into 3 teams; the Investigations Team, the High Risk Victims and Trafficking Team, (HRVT) and the Internet Crimes Against Children Team (ICAC).  These teams investigate; child abductions, child pornography, victimization of children through prostitution, sexual assaults of children by non-family members/strangers, Internet facilitated sexual abuse of children, and other forms of sexual abuse and exploitation of children.  He has been designated as a Special Investigator for the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Texas and a Special Deputy for United States Marshall's Service.

Catherine DeLaPaz is a 20-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department. She is currently assigned to the Child Exploitation Squad where she is responsible for investigating cases involving child pornography, harmful employment, sexual assaults of children by non-family members/strangers, and any other case involving the sexual exploitation of children.