Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking

Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking in Florida are due to law enforcement, the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking, the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights and other service providers located throughout the State.  Florida has been recognized as having some of the highest incidents of human trafficking cases in the U.S. One of these successful cases was U.S. vs. Baldonado, which required cross-agency collaboration. Another notable case prosecuted in Florida is U.S vs. Paulin, in which a 52 year old Haitian National and Miami school teacher Maude Paulin and her husband Saintfort were both found guilty of smuggling and harboring a young Haitian girl, using her as a household servant in their south Florida home between 1999 and 2005. When convicted, Maude Paulins faced a prison term of 87 months, Saintfort faced 18 months and jointly, over $167,000 in restitution was ordered to be paid to the victim.In many areas of Florida, task forces and working groups have been formed to provide trainings and address human trafficking issues in the state.