At least eight people have been arrested on charges related to human trafficking or prostitution in Cook County in the last two weeks, Sheriff Thomas Dart said Monday.
On Oct. 6, four people were arrested for trafficking and operating a brothel, Dart said. In the days since, three others were arrested and charged with promoting prostitution, and one person was charged with possession of child pornography.
Dart said 10 women contacted the sheriff’s department this weekend for help after being advertised on illicit websites and are now in counseling.
He said more arrests could be made if there were more resources to put into the investigations, as more than 30 million tips have been sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children this year.
The sheriff’s office is working to target similar crimes, including investigating websites that are often involved, Dart said at a news conference Monday.
“There is no conceivable way we are going to arrest our way out of this problem,” he said. “We can make a dent in this. We can make arrests, but we can do something about these sites.”
Dart emphasized the onset of the internet has led to an uptick in similar cases and a more advanced strategy to engage in criminal activity.
“There’s no end in sight,” he said.
The sheriff’s office plans to work with active sites to slow and stop human trafficking and prostitution, Dart said.
