BETHLEHEM, Pa.— The Homeland Security special agent responsible for some high-profile arrests in the Lehigh Valley, delivered a keynote speech at Hotel Bethlehem on Friday on human trafficking.
The luncheon was organized by Bloom, a women's sheltering organization that does extensive work with victims of human trafficking, sometimes in partnership with law enforcement which has included Special Agent Kathryn Murray.
Murray is based in Allentown, where her title with Homeland Security Investigations is RAC, which stands for Resident Agent in Charge.
Victim-centered policing
Murray spoke about the importance of a victim-centered approach within law enforcement when it comes to trafficking.
For example, Murray said when she flashes her badge and goes up to confront a suspect in human trafficking, she takes care to assure the victim that they are not in trouble.
"They don't need insurance, we can get all that figured out. We don't even need their real name. They don't even have to be a resident of PA: if they're willing to go, we can get them there. And after that, that's when we can start that rebuilding process once they are strong enough."Special Agent Kathryn Murray, Homeland Security Investigations
"They don't always believe me," Murray said. "That's when organizations like Bloom come in handy."
From that interaction point, law enforcement personnel like Murray can refer a trafficking victim to Bloom, where they can have a safe and off-the-grid place to stay while they get treatment.
Sometimes, Murray said, this treatment involves detox from drugs.
"They don't need insurance, we can get all that figured out. We don't even need their real name. They don't even have to be a resident of PA: if they're willing to go, we can get them there. And after that, that's when we can start that rebuilding process once they are strong enough."
Another tactic Murray said her team uses, is called "fishing" — where Murray will pose online as a 13-year-old girl, or pose as someone who is advertising access to one, for paid sexual purposes.
"It's surprising — well I'm not really surprised anymore — but it's shocking how much interest we get," Murray said.
This type of investigation, which sometimes raises questions of entrapment,has been fruitful in the Lehigh Valley. Recently, Murray's team used this method to arrest and charge five men who allegedly sought to meet an underage girl for sexual purposes.
Human trafficking in the Lehigh Valley
Due to the secretive nature of the "business" of trafficking, as Murray called it, there is no exact statistic on how much of it exists in our region.
Despite this, Murray's numbers shed some light on how many people, locally, have been caught.
According to the presentation, since 2020 there have been 18 human trafficking investigations and 35-40 for child exploitation.
These investigations have yielded 10 prosecutions for human trafficking. Murray did not say how many there were for child exploitation cases, though she did say 50-60 victims have been at least identified.
This includes Berks, Northampton, Lehigh, Carbon, Monroe, and Schuylkill counties — which are the jurisdiction of Murray's Homeland Security office.
Nationally, the FBI says prosecutions for human trafficking offenses have doubled in the last decade, going from 729 to 1,672. According to the same FBI data sheet, as of 2021, there were 1,657 people serving prison sentences for crimes related to trafficking.
In Lehigh County, 18 human trafficking-related offenses were filed over the past five years, data from the Administrative Offices of Pennsylvania Courts shows. Neighboring Berks and Montgomery counties also rank higher in filed cases throughout the state, with Berks County making up 12% of filed cases and Montgomery County filing 7% of cases.
