TEXAS (KXII) – Two new bills signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott will change the way the Lone Star State handles human trafficking.
Trafficking of any person—of any age—is now automatically a first-degree felony.
Additionally, anyone convicted of trafficking a child or a person with a disability will not be allowed parole, ever.
“If somebody gets sentenced to 50 years in prison, they’re going to spend every day of that 50 years in prison,” Grayson County District Attorney John Kermit Hill said.
Signs to watch for
Most trafficking occurs in areas with lots of people and lots of action.
“Every case like this is going to have at least one victim,” Grayson County Domestic Violence Investigator Mariah Carter said, “maybe more than one.”
Carter said it’s easier for criminals to hide what’s happening, but there are things everyone can do to keep spaces safe.
“Look for the universal sign for help,” Carter said.
If you see someone making a hand sign with their thumb tucked into their palm and fingers opening and closing into a fist, call the police because that person is in trouble.
“That would be an alarming sign,” Carter said. “They don’t know how to ask for help, but they’re doing it quietly.”
Carter said it’s also important to act if something just feels off.
“Everybody has an intuition, so if you have a gut feeling when you see an adult, a child, just anyone that seems off, 100% out of the time, make the phone call,” Carter said.
Hill said it’s best to play it safe.
“When somebody is trafficking a child or a disabled person, they’re the worst of the worst,” he said.
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