Reason.com By
Two 17-year-old girls were arrested as part of a “human trafficking” operation in Volusia County, Florida, an area on the state’s east coast that encompasses Daytona Beach.
The arrests highlight how policies billed as helping people forced or coerced into prostitution may wind up harming the very communities cops say they’re trying to help. The operation also showcases how sex trafficking stings often serve as a general dragnet for petty offenses.
In this case, 18 people were arrested as part of the sting conducted by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office (VSO), with charges including prostitution, drug possession, and probation violations. “A Cape Coral man spotted dropping off two female defendants at the scene of the undercover operation was charged with violation of probation for breaking his court-ordered curfew,” according to a VSO press release. “A New Smyrna Beach man on probation with a special condition restricting him from bars was arrested after detectives saw him leave a bar with a woman in the passenger seat of his truck.”…
