The GBI arrested and charged 17 people in Operation “Wrong Room,” a multi-jurisdictional effort to combat human trafficking in Georgia.
Operation “Wrong Room” coincided with Operation “Coast to Coast.” On August 22, 2024, law enforcement and service providers from across the United States came together to conduct a multi-state human trafficking operation. “Coast to Coast” is a twenty-six state campaign that identifies trafficking victims, offers services, and arrests traffickers.
In Operation “Wrong Room” alone, authorities contacted 15 adults and offered services including food, lodging, medical services, drug rehabilitation, counseling/therapy and childcare. Law enforcement seized over $255,000 from suspected traffickers during 2 residential search warrants served in Georgia.
All seventeen arrestees were booked into the Dekalb County jail. The GBI partnered with the Chamblee Police Department, the DeKalb County DA’s Office, the Gwinnett County Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council during Operation “Wrong Room.”
Prostitution Offenses in Georgia
The difference between prostitution and human trafficking is like the difference between DWI (driving while intoxicated) and DUI (driving under the influence). When most people hear “intoxicated,” they think “drunk.” When most people hear “under the influence,” they think “one too many.” Therefore, prosecutors typically use the DUI moniker. Somewhat similarly, human trafficking sounds worse than prostitution. Therefore, the P-word has fallen out of favor with many prosecutors.
Many countries have relaxed or eliminated their prostitution/human trafficking laws. In fact, in Switzerland, between 1942 and 2013, 16-year-olds could have sex for money. Georgia’s prostitution laws, on the other hand, are quite severe. They penalize:
- Prostitution (offering, performing, or agreeing to perform any sexual act in exchange for something of value),
- Pandering (soliciting one or more individuals for engaging in acts of prostitution),
- Pimping (any behavior designed to encourage prostitution, such as scheduling a meeting between a prostitute and customer, demanding an individual to prostitute themselves, or benefiting from acts of prostitution), and
- Allowing (maintaining a home, apartment, hotel room, or other property for prostitution).
First-time prostitution is usually a misdemeanor. The other offenses on this list are usually felonies, even for first-time offenders.
Human trafficking could easily be a wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time offense. Pandering could be very subtle, and law enforcement investigators interpret statements freely. Human trafficking could also be a peripheral offense. Prostitution isn’t an element of a 16-6-10 (allowing) infraction. Instead, these charges could hold up in court if a conveyance or place “would offer seclusion or shelter. . .for the purpose of prostitution.”
Additionally, the state’s forfeiture law could apply, especially in allowing human trafficking matters. If they have probable cause to believe a residential or commercial property was involved in the commission of a crime, which in this case is knowing about criminal activity but not stopping it, the state could seize that property.
These matters are difficult to successfully resolve. Since forfeiture is a civil matter, the state must only prove its case by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not)
Other collateral consequences could apply as well, such as sex offender registration and published notice of conviction. A Marietta criminal defense lawyer can keep sex offender registration quiet, but not conviction publication.
As a footnote to Switzerland’s law, underage girls don’t get in trouble, but the men who have sex with them face between two and three years in prison.
Possible Defenses
In some way, shape, or form, human trafficking defenses revolve around the presumption of innocence, which is nowhere stated, but is deeply ingrained in criminal law.
Procedural
Fourth and Fifth Amendment violations are especially common in dragnet cases, such as “Operation Wrong Room.” These campaigns are very expensive. To justify the expense, officials usually want to make as many arrests as possible.
The Fourth Amendment limits searches and seizures, such as entering a building to find out what’s going on inside. The Fifth Amendment limits voluntary statements, including non-verbal statements like appearing in a lineup or posing for a picture.
Substantive
We mentioned the burden of proof in forfeiture proceedings above. But we haven’t discussed the burden of proof in criminal law cases, which is beyond any reasonable doubt.
Essentially, if a Marietta criminal defense lawyer presents a reasonable alternative theory of events, the state’s case may not hold up in court. Sometimes, an escort for the night really is just an escort for the night. Other times, a connection service really is just a connection service.
Additionally, law enforcement investigators often over-rely on illegally seized evidence when they file charges. They can use this evidence to convince suspects to confess. But this evidence cannot be used in court. So, the case suffers from a lack of evidence from the start.
Affirmative
Before we break down this defense, we should break down “Operation Wrong Room,” a common sting operation that Marietta criminal defense lawyers typically see in online sting operations.
A detective poses as a sex worker or, in the typical online sting, an underage individual. The detective sets up a meeting, the unsuspecting defendant goes to the “wrong room,” and field officers apply the handcuffs.
The entrapment defense, which sometimes works in these situations, has basically three elements, which a Marietta criminal defense lawyer must prove in court:
- An Officer Illegally: Pimping is scheduling a meeting between a worker and a customer. Investigators must walk a very fine line to avoid committing an illegal act. On a related note, the officer doesn’t have to say s/he’s a cop when asked, but an untrue response affects the officer’s credibility.
- Enticed an Individual: Most people netted in this sting operation never thought they would ever pay for sex. So, they had little predisposition to commit the crime. But a Marietta criminal defense lawyer must prove they had absolutely no predisposition to commit the crime. Talking in a sex chat room or answering an unsavory ad show some predisposition.
- To Commit a Crime: Answering an ad isn’t illegal. Meeting with a trafficked person for sex is clearly illegal. At some point, the defendant crosses the line from mere preparation to committing the crime, but that line is fuzzy.
If a procedural, substantive, and/or affirmative defense may apply, a Marietta criminal defense lawyer can often successfully resolve these matters. Largely because of the collateral consequences mentioned above, arranging a plea to reckless conduct or another generic offense is usually the number one goal during pretrial settlement negotiations.
Human trafficking cases have lots of moving parts. For a free consultation with an experienced Marietta criminal defense lawyer, contact The Phillips Law Firm, LLC. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.
