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SALT LAKE CITY -- Human trafficking is becoming a problem in Utah, and law enforcement wants to put an end to it. The U.S. Attorney's Office made an example of two Salt Lake-area men who've been charged sex trafficking.
Dehan Demari Anderson, 26, and Randy Chanhmany, 21, are accused of recruiting two people to engage in commercial sex acts, through Craigslist ads in Salt Lake.
U.S. Attorney for Utah Brett Tolman said, "These crimes have the potential to be some of the most devastating and awful crimes."
Tolman said they used force and fraud to pressure the victims into working for them from July to October 2008.
Prosecutors say the indictment is an example of what good the task force can do with the grant money.
Utah is one of 10 states to receive grant money for training. Several agencies will use the $900,000 to catch and prosecute traffickers, as well as help victims.
The Salt Lake City Police Department is getting $450,000, as is the Utah Health and Human Rights Project.
Susan Ritter, the director of the Utah Health and Human Rights Project, said the group has helped more than 100 victims in Utah since 2006 who have gone through terrible things like bondage, physical coercion and sexual assault.
At the press conference Wednesday morning, law enforcement made it clear that they weren't talking about human smuggling, but trafficking.
Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank, said, "It can be very subtle in the form of, ‘If you don't engage in prostitution, this is what will happen to your children, this is what will happen to your family.' These types of things go on in our community."
He added, "Most of these cases have evolved through drug trafficking cases or our vice unit."
Tolman said, "Salt Lake City can often think of itself as an area that is hidden here in the mountains and may not be susceptible to these types of crimes, and that is flat out wrong. Salt Lake City is no longer one that will turn a blind eye or ignore these types of crimes."
Much of the money will go to training.
Burbank said his officers will need to learn to delve deeper into investigations because human trafficking can be hidden under other crimes. He said, "[It's] not just a matter of showing up and serving the warrant, walking away with the dope and a few arrests. What is supporting, what is funding this operation? What's keeping it going?"
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is also a part of the task force because of the global nature of the business. They said victims shouldn't be afraid of coming forward if they're immigrants.
"We want them comfortable understanding we view them as victims," said Jonathan Lines of ICE. "We will facilitate their coming forward as victims. There are provisions for victims. And we are not going to be punitive and look at them and worry about 'well what's your status?'"
The Utah Health and Human Rights Project said it's also had to train 1,600 advocates to keep up with the caseload.
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Story compiled with contributions from Nicole Gonzales and Andrew Adams.
