Missouri’s message to traffickers and illicit massage operations: You are not welcome

January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, a time to shine a light on the dark underworld of human trafficking. The sad and often terrifying reality is that this abusive crime exists, and sometimes thrives, in our own backyards. As Missouri’s attorney general, it has been and continues to be a priority to transform Missouri into the most inhospitable state in the country for human trafficking. 

To that end, one important component of my office’s efforts is education. Through our Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, we have trained hundreds of local law enforcement and advocacy groups. An important question we often ask is, “Do you know how to identify human trafficking?” Trafficking can occur in many different places: city streets, truck stops, strip clubs and online. Many traffickers prefer to use hotels and motels to avoid detection by law enforcement or the public. Sometimes, the signs of human trafficking are evident, but sometimes they’re invisible. We encourage Missourians to visit humantraffickinghotline.org to learn more about the signs of different types of trafficking. When something seems off, report it by calling the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888. 

To make reporting human trafficking easier and more effective, my office made an important change: Last year, we began urging Missourians to report all suspected instances of human trafficking to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, rather than to a state-specific line — a move that has already resulted in several success stories. The national hotline allows our office to coordinate on a real-time basis with federal, state and local law enforcement, reducing response times and ensuring that the appropriate authorities are called in for specific situations. 

And this approach is working. Last year, a public transportation worker in Kansas City noticed the signs of a potential trafficking victim and immediately phoned the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Law enforcement quickly coordinated a response and the victim was rescued shortly thereafter. In a separate incident, two women were rescued from a compromising situation in a hotel room after a hotline call. The response time from the call to officers arriving on scene was just 29 minutes — a testament to the state and federal cooperation among law enforcement, our office and the national hotline.

We also know that the accessibility of the internet has only enabled human trafficking to proliferate. Across the state and the country, traffickers use the legitimate massage industry as a facade to establish what are known as illicit massage businesses. In fact, there are some estimates that there are roughly 9,000 of these criminal operations across the country. These traffickers promote their services through websites such as CityXGuides, illegally marketing their victims to a specific clientele. These establishments attempt to hide in plain sight, usually in commercial strip malls.

There are common indicators that a business is an illicit massage business: Prices tend to be below market rates to incentivize tips. The business caters only to men. Customers use rear or side entrances. The business is open late. Windows are blocked off, doors are locked and customers must be buzzed in. Their websites contain sexual innuendo or references to the workers’ appearance. Online reviews describe sex acts. Employees appear to live on the premises. 

To put an end to these abuses in Missouri, our office launched the Hope Initiative. We first identified likely illicit massage businesses through their advertising on websites known to be problematic. We then notified their landlords, who were often unaware of the nature of their tenants’ business. We urged the landlords to evict these businesses in order to comply with the law and avoid legal action from my office. Our early results are encouraging. Since launching the initiative, 33 illicit massage businesses across the state, including six in the Kansas City area, have already been or are in the process of being evicted. We will continue to pursue further evictions aggressively. 

At the heart of our effort to combat human trafficking are the victims who feel unseen and forgotten. They are real people. Each one of them has innate human dignity. That’s why we defend them. That’s why we fight for them. 

My commitment is to continue to work with my fellow Missourians to find new, inventive ways to make our state a shining example in the fight against the shadowy criminal enterprise of human trafficking. 

Eric Schmitt is attorney general of Missouri.

This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Missouri’s message to traffickers and illicit massage operations: You are not welcome."