U.S. Attorney Targets Human Trafficking in Massachusetts

BOSTON — Human trafficking is not a distant horror — it’s happening here, now, in Massachusetts, and federal prosecutors are treating it like the epidemic it is. U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins has declared war on modern-day slavery, launching a dedicated Civil Rights and Human Trafficking Unit in August 2022 to target sex traffickers, labor exploiters, and human smugglers with federal firepower.

Since its inception, the unit has brought nearly a dozen criminal cases, spanning from forced labor rings to underground sex trafficking networks. Investigators are actively pursuing multiple leads across the state, with victims identified in eight different states — all exploited, at some point, on Massachusetts soil. The office reports assisting 15 victims so far, many pulled from conditions of unimaginable control and abuse.

But Rollins isn’t just chasing criminals — she’s pushing to stop the crime before it spreads. This month, her office kicked off a hard-hitting indicator training series in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), targeting the very people who might see the signs: city inspectors, hotel workers, transportation staff, and others on the front lines of public interaction. Over 100 public employees in Boston have already been trained to spot grooming, coercion, and trafficking red flags.

“Human trafficking is modern day slavery. It is a civil rights violation of the highest order that impacts victims across races, genders, age, immigration status and socio-economic standing,” Rollins said. “Traffickers use threats, lies, grooming techniques, or violence to exploit vulnerabilities, manipulate and control their victims. Sadly, this crime often goes entirely unseen or ignored.”

To amplify the response, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has cemented alliances with the Commonwealth Anti-Trafficking Task Force, the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence’s Human Trafficking Subcommittee, and regional task forces in Western Massachusetts and Plymouth County. Rollins has also committed to ongoing dialogue with survivor-led organizations, centering lived experience in policy and prosecution.

If you or someone you know may be impacted or experiencing human trafficking, visit https://polarisproject.org/ for confidential help and resources. The signs are there — the question is, who’s watching?