Sheila Setzer’s letter to the editor is a disservice to the noble cause of addressing the issue of human trafficking.

Setzer erroneously concludes the public sex offender registry must be filled with human traffickers. People can be listed on the public registry for many non-trafficking offenses, from urinating behind a dumpster to being a teenager in a mutual relationship with a classmate. A 2013 Human Rights Watch report also found, “in Delaware in 2011, there were approximately 639 children on the sex offender registry, 55 of whom were under the age of 12.” Not only does Delaware place children as young as age 9 on the registry, it also had, until recently, automatically placed juveniles under age 14 on the registry. In some states, prostitution offenses are registerable, leading to some sex trafficking victims being included on the public sex offender registry. Most people listed on the registry do not commit new sexual offenses, much less those tied to human trafficking.

Setzer laments that “our Attorney General Kathy Jennings has prosecuted very few cases under the human trafficking statute,” but that is because human trafficking cases are extremely rare in the U.S. For Fiscal Year 2021, the federal government reported 1,197 persons charged with all forms of human trafficking, including non-sexual offenses like forced labor. Of those, 68% of arrestees had no prior criminal record. Only 570 state prison admissions for FY 2021 involved trafficking. This is even after the government inflates such statistics by adding online entrapment or repackaging age-old prostitution busts as “anti-trafficking” operations.

I agree we need education programs, but pointing to a poorly written, low-budget Hollywood film like “Sound of Freedom” for inspiration is a poor place to start. Is Setzer aware that Tim Ballard, the man featured in that film, was ousted from his own anti-trafficking organization following sexual misconduct allegations?

To paraphrase something Tim Ballard allegedly said to one of his victims, just how far are you “willing to go” to protect children? Unless the answer is “far enough to separate fact from fiction,” then you are not going far enough. The false narrative that human trafficking is a widespread problem in the U.S. wastes valuable resources that could be better spent with a narrower focus. America wastes billions annually on law enforcement agents posing as online escorts, donations and government grants to victim advocacy groups that spread misinformation and flat-out lies, and a useless sex offender registry that is OK with placing children or actual sex trafficking victims on a government hit list for would-be vigilantes to harass or murder. None of these strategies are working for anyone except those individuals and agencies that profit off the human trafficking hysteria.

A solution must begin with an honest look at the issue; this means no propaganda, inflated statistics, broad definitions that include consensual adult activities, Hollywood fictional stories or celebrity spokespeople begging for money.

Derek W. Logue
OnceFallen.com
Registered citizen/civil rights advocate