LANSING, Mich. – Human trafficking puts the state’s most vulnerable people in serious danger.
Oakland County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jason DeSantis testified about human trafficking in Michigan to the Oversight Committee on Child Welfare.
DeSantis was invited to speak to the committee to raise awareness about human trafficking in Michigan. His testimony focused on what the data doesn’t tell us, what lawmakers need to do to protect people, and how victims are being targeted.
Human trafficking data
The National Human Trafficking Hotline has statistics for Michigan that go back to 2007.
Since 2007 there have been 3,307 human trafficking cases identified by the hotline for a total of 6,909 victims.
2023 data
- Signals received: 779
- Cases identified: 254
- Victims involved: 506
2024 data
- Signals received: 764
- Cases identified: 340
- Victims involved: 585
But when it comes to this data, DeSantis said the numbers should actually be much higher.
“What I can tell you is I don’t believe any of those numbers. I wish I could tell you that I did but they are not accurate. These numbers underrepresent the scale of the problem,” DeSantis said.
Michigan’s human trafficking laws
DeSantis also brought up concerns about how Michigan laws handle the criminal side of human trafficking.
“Every commercial sex-worker has a story, often more than one, about how law enforcement or medical personnel failed them at a moment when they were about ready to disclose on their trafficker,” DeSantis said.
People convicted of purchasing sex face the possibility of 93 days in jail and/or a $500 fine. If the person they purchased sex from is a minor, then the penalty goes up to 5 years in jail.
DeSantis said that punishment isn’t enough. He said the purchaser should face harsher penalties and the system should be kinder to victims.
“Officers throughout Oakland County are now trained to treat human trafficking victims as people who have a life and a history and most importantly a future outside of trafficking,” DeSantis said.