Examining the Champaign County Data


This semester I have been completing my criminal justice practicum at the Human Trafficking Research Lab examining cases from Champaign county in 2018 and 2017 in the court case database Clericus Magnus and in the local media. During my research I have found several cases of grooming which can meet the definition of human trafficking. In 2018 there was a case of a man convicted of both sexual offenses and grooming which means that alleged trafficker was attempting to persuade someone to do things against their will. Groomers commonly use social media and technology. Another case from 2018 that I located I found that the perpetrator was found guilty of soliciting a sexual act, as well as harassment through electronic communication and disorderly conduct. These actions can be classified as grooming and even stalking and have elements of human trafficking but were not charged as trafficking. In this research it is clear that parents need to monitor their children's online activities and social media usage to help stop these types of cases from happening again in the future.

Devin Top

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