ORLANDO, Fla. — There’s a push to find out just how common human trafficking is in adult entertainment venues.
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9 Investigates broke the news last month about the arrest of four people connected to an Orange County strip club. They’re accused of allowing a girl to dance at just 15 years old.
At the federal level, at the national level, the Department of Justice really … never collected data,” U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz said.
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Waltz said he wants to change that. He’s pushing a bipartisan bill to require a federal study to monitor and combat human trafficking by looking at how victims are trafficked, who they are and how they’re connected to adult entertainment clubs.
“We can’t effectively legislate it until we really have the numbers and know the extent and the nature of the problem,” Waltz said.
Waltz points to anecdotal evidence, like the recent arrests at he strip club in Orlando, but said Congress needs to learn more about how criminals behind these types of crimes operate so lawmakers can find better ways to fight it.
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“This is going to take hard work at all levels,” Waltz said. “And the last thing it is, is about Republican or Democrat. This is about saving the lives of young girls.
While individual states, including Florida, may tackle the issue, Waltz said many times human trafficking victims are moved across state lines.
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