More Trafficking Victims Turn to Hotline With Pleas for Help
The tipster's account was grim. A woman had suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung at the hands of a man who for nine years had been forcing her into prostitution.
That confidential call was received in late January by the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which relayed the tip to an anti-trafficking task force operating in Virginia's Hampton Roads area. Within days, investigators located and interviewed the woman, and arrested the man, Naeem Lateef Odums. He was indicted on sex trafficking charges in March, pleaded guilty in June and will be sentenced in November to at least 15 years in prison.
"The hotline is extremely effective," said Michael Lamonea, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent who assists the task force. "It's crucial to get folks the knowledge that there is help out there — there is a light at the end of the tunnel." . .