FORT MYERS, Fla. — A renewed approach to fighting the human trafficking crisis would have prosecution efforts focus more on the customers of sex trafficking victims, instead of arresting the victims for prostitution. It's an approach favored by Martin County Sheriff William Snyder. This comes on the heels of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's arrest in a bust at a massage parlor in Jupiter, accused of soliciting sex.
Fort Myers-based mental health counselor Liana Calderin, who has worked with many human trafficking victims, supports more prosecution for the "johns," and says that by going after the men demanding sex services, it could result in less supply.
"If you don't have the customers, then the business is going to go down," Calderin said.
She believes that arresting the women only inhibits other victims from coming forward, and escaping a life of forced prostitution.
"Traffickers use this (situation) to coerce and threaten the victims," she said.
Calderin hopes that fear of exposure from an arrest will inhibit men from soliciting sex from trafficking victims.
"Many of these johns have a double life," she said. "So they are also going to consider that their family, friends, their job, their community is going to kow about this negative behavior."
Florida Senator Marco Rubio invited Sheriff Snyder to Washington, D.C. to talk to several groups about the idea of pushing for more prosecution of sex trafficking customers.
