PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — We’re digging deeper into the multiple human trafficking and prostitution rings in Palm Beach County.
Officials with the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office told WPTV, they caught 31-year-old Cinthia Saucedo Torres after she fled to Mexico and tried to re-enter at the U.S. border.
WATCH WPTV'S COVERAGE BELOW:
We first told you about the investigation on Tuesday, after Torres was arrested, and faces multiple felonies, accused of running and profiting from brothels in Lake Worth and West Palm Beach through threats and violence.
Our coverage sparked a wave of reaction on TikTok, with viewers expressing shock over the neighborhoods where the operations were active.
Laura Cusack, with the Human Trafficking Coalition of the Palm Beaches, explains traffickers often target neighborhoods to avoid detection.
“You go to a hotel; you’re somewhere out in the public — there’s staff. There’s security. There’s front desk staff. There might be managers and housekeeping. There's lots of eyes that can pay attention to what’s going on,” said Cusack. “But if you’re in a neighborhood, it allows them to go under the radar, in the sense that there isn’t staff monitoring.”
According to the arrest report, a victim told investigators she met a man at a restaurant who offered her money for a massage. When she arrived, she found herself in a brothel and was pressured to perform sexual acts. She says she felt forced to stay for money, and when she tried to leave, she was threatened with a gun.
“The really unfortunate aspect or recruitment tactic that these traffickers will use is they will look for individuals who maybe need something, who are desperate, who are down their luck, who need a job, who want to provide for their families,” said Cusack.
Data from the Human Trafficking Hotline shows residence-based commercial sex was among the most common venues for trafficking in Florida, with 58 cases reported last year.
Cusack applauds law enforcement, but said it will take more effort from people to fight the crisis.
“They do a great job in investigating and following up, but it really takes the community to be the ones to tip them off or give them the information or see something and report it,’ said Cusack.
As of Wednesday, court records don’t show pending charges against Torres’ brother or husband, and it's still unclear how many victims were involved.
If you would like to report a trafficking situation, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
