Kenosha police arrest 18 men, rescue trafficking victim in prostitution sting
KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Kenosha police Facebook page is buzzing after a post about a recent undercover prostitution sting.
Police put 18 men behind bars and say more importantly, they discovered a victim among them.
A woman who'd been held against her will is safe tonight thanks to Kenosha police. Police say they discovered this latest human trafficking victim near the I-94 corridor.
"I'm not gonna disclose exactly which establishment we were at this time, but usually it's out near I-94," said Kenosha Police Lt. Joseph Nosalik.
Lt. Nosalik says I-94 is where police tend to find human trafficking victims.
"I think it's easy access, typically, for people who are prostituting themselves. They of course go all over the area, but then people who patronize prostitutes, too. We got one that came from as far away as Huntley, Illinois," said Lt. Nosalik.
Kenosha's Facebook post is generating a lot of comments, people thanking police for a job well done. The two-day undercover sting took 18 Johns into custody, ranging in age from 23-63, each walking away with a municipal citation.
"An average buyer is a middle to upper-class male," said Melania Brostowitz, Fight to End Exploitation executive director.
Fight to End Exploitation serves southeast Wisconsin, primarily Kenosha and Racine.
"So we are on a hotspot of trafficking. And so anywhere you have a busy corridor where there's hotels, motels, truck stops, gas stations, you're going to have trafficking and trafficking victims," said Brostowitz.
Kenosha's Sensitive Crimes Bureau goes out at random times and in random places, to not create a pattern.
"We know that traffickers, they transport their victims not only to maintain control, but also to stay on the move with them, so they don't get comfortable," said Brostowitz.
Police encourage the public if something seems suspicious, call them.
"If there's nothing going on, then there's nothing going on, and we part ways with the citizens. But often times people's senses are correct and human trafficking is discovered a lot of times that way," said Lt. Nosalik.
There are a lot of victim advocacy centers around southeast Wisconsin.
You can find a list of resources below: