While awareness of human trafficking is on the rise, there are still blind spots that prevent law enforcement from recognizing all forms of exploitation. Men, boys and victims of labor trafficking through forced criminality are often overlooked because they do not fit the typical depiction of a human trafficking victim. However, in the case of Victor Rax, Utah’s Attorney General’s Office was able to identify dozens of boys and young men from immigrant communities who were forced to sell drugs after being sexually, spiritually and physically abused.

The presenters will use the Rax case as a backdrop to discuss the realities of labor trafficking and respond to cases of forced criminality, including how traffickers use grooming tactics common in both child sexual abuse cases and in gang culture to recruit and coerce victims to commit crimes. Strategies to better identify and respond to cases of forced criminality will be discussed through a detailed examination of the Rax investigation which led to his eventual arrest sexual abuse and labor trafficking.

Presented by: Giant Slayer Communications, Kristi House, AEquitas

Learning Objectives:

1. Recognize and describe methods to traffickers use to identify, recruit, and coerce victims of labor trafficking via forced criminality.
2. Conduct trauma-informed investigations and prosecutions in cases where male victims have been abused and exploited effectively hold offenders accountable.
3. Collaborate to provide support to and connect male victims of forced criminality/human trafficking with meaningful voices

Thursday, May 19, 2 – 3:30 pm

Register Here