Modern Day Slavery: Human Trafficking Ring In Northeast Philadelphia is Busted

 Broad & Liberty ran my piece on human trafficking ring being busted in Philadelphia.

You can read the piece via the below link or the below text:

Paul Davis: Human trafficking ring in Northeast Philadelphia is busted 

Other than murder, there is perhaps no crime more heinous than human trafficking. 

The victims of human trafficking, mostly women and young girls, suffer pain, imprisonment, forced sex, and physical and mental abuse for prolonged periods, often without hope of rescue.

Our porous Southern Border has increased human trafficking, as the traffickers freely transport victims across the border from Mexico into the United States.  

Over the years, I’ve covered human trafficking for Counterterrorism magazine and other publications. I’ve spoken to law enforcement officers across the U.S. from ICE, the FBI, and other agencies involved in combating this horrible crime. The criminals who engage in human trafficking, I’ve been told, are heartless, cruel and violent.

So, I was pleased to learn that a human trafficking ring right here in Philadelphia was busted.  

On October 22, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry and the Pennsylvania State Police announced the disbanding of a long-running, Philadelphia-based human trafficking ring with charges against 22 individuals.

“Terrance L. Jones, of Philadelphia, is the alleged leader of the ring, having posed as a female (“Julia”) to recruit commercial sex workers, who were taken to and from “dates” by drivers hired by Jones,” the Attorney General announced.

“Jones, 52, is charged with corrupt organizations, trafficking in individuals, involuntary servitude, criminal conspiracy, and related offenses. He was arrested on Oct. 18 and arraigned. Bail was set at $2 million.”

In addition to Jones, Thomas Reilly, one of the hired drivers, is charged with similar offenses, as well as rape and other sexual assault offenses. Reilly, 54, was arraigned and bail was set at $1 million.

“Also charged was Natoria Jones (Terrance Jones’ daughter), who served as a financial manager; three other drivers; and sixteen commercial sex buyers.

“The charges result from a years-long, comprehensive investigation by the Office of Attorney General, Pennsylvania State Police, and 50th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, which heard testimony and returned a presentment about conduct spanning from 2012 to 2023.”

Attorney General Henry stated, “For more than a decade, Terrance Jones allegedly tricked vulnerable young women into his web of control and abuse, disregarding their well-being and safety to make a profit. These charges and arrests are huge steps toward holding Jones and his cohorts accountable for a reign of terror that caused pain and suffering.”

Colonel Christopher Paris, the Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner, added, “Today, we stand firm in our commitment to keeping communities safe as we announce these significant human trafficking arrests. The Pennsylvania State Police and our law enforcement partners are dedicated to supporting victims and ensuring that those who exploit others face the full weight of the law.”

Also charged are James Rudolph, Rhaheem Hill, and Joseph Franklin (drivers); and Joseph Szegila, Christopher Wood, Stephen Osborne, Pasquale Difelice, Steven May, Michael Bonczak, Brian Smith, Christopher Bello, Jonathan Fellenz, Robert Brutsche, Kevin Bullock, Boris Volinsky, Brian Nice, Gary Ames, Grady Durham, and Gregory Doto (commercial sex buyers).

According to the Attorney General, charging commercial sex buyers is essential to reducing trafficking because, without buyers, traffickers would have no source of income. Individuals willing to pay other people to exploit young women fuel the existence of human trafficking.

“Jones is accused of running the operation from his residence from 2012 through February 2023. He used the persona of a female, “Julia,” to recruit commercial sex workers. The individuals he called to recruit believed they were speaking to a woman. Jones chose recruits who were dealing with substance abuse disorder or other hardships.” 

I recall spending a morning back in April of 2015 discussing human trafficking with the Homeland Security investigators responsible for combating this heinous crime.

Meeting at the Philadelphia offices of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), an organizational element of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), I learned a good deal about the victims and the criminals involved in human trafficking.

I spoke with William S. Walker, then the Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, and David M. Hepler, then an HSI Supervisory Special Agent.

According to the HSI special agents, human trafficking is akin to modern-day slavery. Victims pay to be illegally transported into the United States only to find themselves in the thrall of traffickers. They are forced into prostitution, involuntary labor and other forms of servitude to repay debts. In certain cases, the victims are mere children. They find themselves surrounded by an unfamiliar culture and language without identification documents, fearing for their lives and the lives of their families.

The HSI special agents said that “Trafficking in Persons” is defined as sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained eighteen years of age; or the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery.

Anyone with information about the accused Philadelphia human trafficking ring is asked to contact the Pennsylvania State Police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations at 215-452-5239.

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column for the Washington Times. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com.