Trafficking Profiles

Operated a vast sex trafficking network exploiting dozens of underage girls over more than a decade. Convicted in 2008 Florida plea deal; re-arrested on federal charges in 2019. Died in custody August 2019.

Convicted in December 2021 on five of six counts for her central role in recruiting, grooming, and trafficking underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein. Sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.

Convicted September 2021 on racketeering and sex trafficking charges after decades of documented sexual abuse. Sentenced to 30 years. Additional conviction in Chicago in February 2023.

Founded the NXIVM organization and its secret subgroup DOS, which branded women, extorted them with collateral, and subjected them to forced labor and sexual exploitation. Sentenced to 120 years.

Former USA Gymnastics national medical coordinator who sexually abused more than 500 women and girls over two decades under the guise of medical treatment. Sentenced to 40–175 years in state prison and 60 years in federal prison. Case exposed catastrophic institutional failures at MSU, USAG, and the FBI.

Co-founders and CEO of Backpage.com, the classified advertising site that federal prosecutors determined facilitated the majority of online sex trafficking advertising in the United States. Ferrer pleaded guilty in 2018; Lacey convicted in 2024.

Actress known for Smallville who became a senior member of NXIVM’s secret subgroup DOS. Pleaded guilty in April 2019. Sentenced to three years. Released early in 2023.

Cambodian anti-trafficking advocate whose foundation raised millions of dollars. A 2014 Newsweek investigation revealed fabricated personal stories and coached survivor testimonies, leading to her resignation. A complex case of real advocacy built on false narratives.

Swedish-Chinese bookseller abducted from Thailand by Chinese security agents in 2015. Detained, subjected to forced television confessions, and sentenced by a Chinese court to 10 years in 2020. Widely regarded as a case of state-sponsored forced disappearance.

Ongoing series of FBI-led nationwide sting operations targeting child sex trafficking. Since 2008, has recovered thousands of minors and led to hundreds of arrests across all 50 states.

Nickelodeon producer alleged to have used his position to exploit young performers. Quietly departed from the network in 2018. No criminal charges filed; multiple NDAs in place. Subject of investigative reporting.

French modeling agent and associate of Jeffrey Epstein accused of using the fashion industry to traffic young models. Arrested in Paris December 2020. Found dead in prison cell February 2022 in apparent suicide.

Australian national convicted of some of the most extreme child sexual abuse and exploitation material ever documented. Operated from the Philippines. Convicted of human trafficking, rape, and abuse of minors. Sentenced to life imprisonment plus additional terms.

South African survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking network who became a prominent advocate for victims’ rights. Published memoir Silenced No More. Key witness in the Maxwell trial and ongoing civil litigation.

Signal International recruited hundreds of Indian guest workers for post-Katrina rebuilding with false promises of permanent residency. Workers faced debt bondage, squalid conditions, and threats of deportation. Landmark $14 million jury verdict in 2015.

Mexican journalist whose 2005 book Los Demonios del Edén exposed a child sex trafficking ring in Cancún, leading to the conviction and 112-year sentence of Jean Succar Kuri. Illegally arrested and tortured for her reporting. Recipient of the UNESCO Press Freedom Prize.

Operates the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Since 2007, has identified over 82,000 trafficking situations, connected over 51,000 survivors to services, and mapped 25 distinct types of trafficking in the United States.