Will, thank you for testifying for S58, the anti-human trafficking bill filed by Sen. Mark Montigny, and for cosponsoring the bill. Human trafficking, which is the crime of buying and selling human beings, typically into servitude or prostitution, occurs everywhere in the world (www.polarisproject.org). There are victims here in Massachusetts. The Boston Police Department’s anti-human trafficking division saw 62 cases in 2007 and twice that in 2008 (“Third Time Around, Human Trafficking Bill has Majority Support in Senate,” State House News Service, June 18, 2009). The Boston Globe reported on a case in Brookline (February 27, 2006, http://www.boston.com/yourlife/articles/2006/02/27/free_will/?page=1).
Massachusetts currently has no law specifically against human trafficking. In order to effectively prosecute these crimes, the bill must pass. Thanks again for your support.