Twelve people have been charged since January in alleged cases of human trafficking in the Cape and Islands region.
Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois said yesterday that his office is pursuing a total of 29 charges against those 12 defendants.
All of the cases are still pending, and he said he won’t talk about the details until each is resolved.
Galibois held a press conference at the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority station in Hyannis to discuss his office’s anti-trafficking work since February, when he announced receipt of a state grant of more than $97,000.
He said yesterday that the DA’s office has organized anti-trafficking training around the region. Two trainings have taken place on Cape Cod: one for members of the service industry, focused on awareness and ways to get help, and another for law enforcement and first responders, focused on investigative techniques.
His office organized a third training on Nantucket, and two are planned for Martha’s Vineyard in September.
At the transit station yesterday, Galibois unveiled flyers and new QR code magnets, which will be placed on buses and in other public locations to provide a quick link to information on how to report suspected human trafficking.
“That will lead folks to a website where they can both gain resource information and leave contact information, to help with both assisting survivors and launching investigations,” he said.
Tom Cahir, administrator of the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority, joined Galibois at the press conference, along with members of local law enforcement and others.
Cahir said the DA explained to him the prevalence of human trafficking.
“It was far more acute than I had recognized,” he said. “So he asked us if we would be able to collaborate and put up flyers within our facilities and also on our vehicles. And I was more than happy to say, yes, that's a great thing to do.”
Trafficking is the exploitation of a person through force, fraud, or coercion. It comes in multiple forms, including sex trafficking, forced labor, and domestic servitude.
Sonja Solberg Potter, assistant director of My Life My Choice, a trafficking prevention group, said the DA’s initiative has allowed her organization to expand services and training on the Cape and Islands.
“The commercial sexual exploitation of children and trafficking of children — it happens in every community,” she said. “It's happening on the Cape and Islands. It's an egregious form of child abuse. And we believe that children deserve better.”
The DA’s office has also established a human trafficking hotline, available 24/7 by call or text, at 774-822-0632.
