Human trafficking summit held in Kane County following raid of multiple brothels, rescue of 8 women

KANE COUNTY – Those leading the charge combating human trafficking in Kane County said there must be more open dialogue and a shift in public opinion of the victims in order to fully address the problem.

Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser, One Collective and the Fox Valley Family Violence Coordinating Council held a Human Trafficking Summit on May 11 at Christ Community Church in South Elgin.

More than 50 people attended the summit. Several members of the organizing agencies gave presentations. Presenters included members of the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, One Collective, Out of Darkness, Naomi’s House and the St Charles Police Department.

The goal of the summit was to enhance public awareness, deliver educational resources and foster networking opportunities to combat human trafficking in Kane County and the surrounding area. Presenters identified the different forms of human trafficking, how it is combated and who is most vulnerable to fall victim.

Mosser gave the opening remarks. She said the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office is looking to change the narrative that views the women involved as engaging in shameful prostitution to treating them as victims of sex trafficking and going after those in charge rather than prosecuting the women.

Hitting close to home

Mosser said while trafficking often is thought of as a foreign problem, its roots have worked their way into Kane County where investigations recently uncovered a trafficking operation that led to raids of multiple brothels, the rescue of eight women and the arrest of five individuals.

Last year, the State’s Attorney’s Office created the Child Exploitation Unit. Mosser said they are pursuing a grant to create Kane County’s first human trafficking unit.

“We are very proud to be protecting the most vulnerable in the community,” Mosser said.

Naomi’s House is a faith-based organization that works to bring hope and healing to the victims of human trafficking. It was founded in West Chicago in 2016 and has expanded to serve hundreds of women in the greater Chicago area.

Naomi’s House has locations in Chicago, Elgin and Wheaton that offer specialized care for victims of trafficking on their road to healing. Reset, Reside and Rise are their main programs. They work to break the cycle of trafficking by offering support, respite and healing services to survivors.

“It takes a really long time to turn society around. The rest of the world is not with us yet in seeing these women as victims of trafficking. Things like this start the conversation and we start having collaborations. This is how we address and we solve the problem.”

—  Christine Bayer, prosecutor in charge of trafficking cases in Kane County

Reset is an outreach initiative that offers respite through case management services and support for victims, Reside is a shelter program that offers 24-hour residential care and Rise supports victims through day programming to help trafficking survivors heal and stay on the right track as they recover from a life of commercial sexual exploitation.

Identifying the problem

Representatives of Naomi’s House gave a “Human Trafficking 101″ presentation at the summit. They said more than 24,000 women are trafficked in Illinois each year and less than 2,000 shelter beds are available nationwide.

Naomi’s House representatives said trafficking is a hidden problem that is not often talked about and victims are difficult to identify because of the many different types of victims, the trauma preventing them from reaching out for help and the fact that many survivors don’t identify as victims. They said only 1% of trafficking survivors are identified each year and 80% of victims go back to a life of being trafficked because of an inability to support themselves or work through their trauma.

Naomi’s House representatives said trafficking victims often are lured through a romantic relationship, as children, by family members, through social media, through an exploitation of addiction or as a means for survival. Those most vulnerable are people with housing instability, economic disparity, a history of sexual abuse, mental health or substance abuse problems and the LGBTQIA+ community.

Of those that Naomi’s House has helped, almost all have suffered childhood abuse, struggled with substance abuse, have criminal records, lack basic life skills and have been diagnosed with mental illness and most have experienced homelessness.

Naomi’s House representatives said good ways to get involved are by staying informed, attending training workshops such as the summit, volunteering, raising awareness and reporting suspicious activity. Suspected cases can be reported through the human trafficking hotline at 888-373-7888 and Naomi’s House intake can be reached at 630-480-1679.

Changing the narrative and starting the conversation

Based on a study of Chicago trafficking cases, 89% of arrests made in trafficking cases are women, less than 10% are men and less than 1% are those doing the trafficking.

The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office is working to change those statistics by not seeking charges against the victims and going after the traffickers instead.

Christine Bayer is the prosecutor in charge of trafficking cases in Kane County. At the summit, she said law enforcement and community members need to shift how they view trafficking, especially those victimized by the crime.

“It takes a really long time to turn society around. The rest of the world is not with us yet in seeing these women as victims of trafficking,” Bayer said. “Things like this start the conversation and we start having collaborations. This is how we address and we solve the problem.”

A detective with the St. Charles Police Department who led the charge in uncovering the trafficking ring in July 2023 in Kane County spoke at the summit. His name is being omitted for safety concerns as the investigation is ongoing.

The detective said the investigation was the largest case handled by the St. Charles Police Department by far and has since expanded to the national level. He said before working the case, he wouldn’t have believed trafficking could be happening in St. Charles and even after a confidential informant tipped them off, they were shocked when surveillance confirmed the information.

“Human trafficking is a much bigger issue in Kane County than I originally thought,” the detective said. “I didn’t want to believe it.”

The investigation revealed the trafficking in St. Charles was part of a much bigger ring with brothels located in Chicago, Aurora, Elgin, South Elgin, Berwyn, Palatine and Hanover Park that were being advertised only to Spanish speakers through an underground network.

A joint task force was created with members from local, state and federal agencies and eventually nine search warrants were executed at five separate brothels. The raids resulted in the rescue of eight women, all from South America who did not speak English, and the arrest of five suspects who were charged with multiple felony charges.

The detective said the case opened the eyes of many law enforcement officers in the area and has led to new awareness training being implemented, which he teaches to St. Charles officers. He also leads classes for civilians at the College of DuPage.