BOSTON (WHDH) - Massachusetts ranked among the top 25 states for the number of active criminal human trafficking cases making their way through federal courts in 2019, according to a new report.
The Bay State had eight active cases last year, data published this week by the Human Trafficking Institute indicated. Federal prosecutors charged one new criminal case, ranking Massachusetts 28th in the United States for the number of new criminal human trafficking cases.
Data also showed that in 2019, federal courts convicted three defendants in a criminal human trafficking case, ranking Massachusetts 25th in the nation for the number of defendants convicted. Federal courts ordered one out of three convicted defendants to pay restitution, ranking the Commonwealth 17th in the nation for percentage of defendants ordered to pay restitution.
New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and California ranked among the states with the most active human trafficking cases.
There were 606 active cases across the country last year, involving 1,058 total defendants. The federal government filed 145 new cases, marking a 14.7 percent decline from 2018, according to the report.
Five hundred seventy-five of those cases included sex trafficking schemes, while 31 were forced labor cases.
Of all of the cases, 339 convictions were made.
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